Executive function relates to surface area of frontal and temporal cortex in very-low-birth-weight late teenagers

Heidi Furre Østgård; Anne Elisabeth Sølsnes; Knut Jørgen Bjuland; Lars Morten Rimol; Marit Martinussen; Ann-Mari Brubakk; Asta Kristine Håberg; Jon Skranes; Gro Christine Christensen Løhaugen

doi:10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2016.01.023

Executive function relates to surface area of frontal and temporal cortex in very-low-birth-weight late teenagers

Early Hum Dev. 2016 Apr:95:47-53. doi: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2016.01.023. Epub 2016 Mar 2.

Authors

Heidi Furre Østgård¹, Anne Elisabeth Sølsnes², Knut Jørgen Bjuland¹, Lars Morten Rimol³, Marit Martinussen⁴, Ann-Mari Brubakk⁵, Asta Kristine Håberg⁶, Jon Skranes⁷, Gro Christine Christensen Løhaugen⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Laboratory Medicine, Children's and Women's Health, Medical Faculty, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
² Department of Laboratory Medicine, Children's and Women's Health, Medical Faculty, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway. Electronic address: anne.e.solsnes@ntnu.no.
³ Department of Laboratory Medicine, Children's and Women's Health, Medical Faculty, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway; Department of Medicine, University of Haw, ai'i, Honolulu, HI, USA.
⁴ Department of Laboratory Medicine, Children's and Women's Health, Medical Faculty, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway; Department of Obstetrics, St Olav University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway.
⁵ Department of Laboratory Medicine, Children's and Women's Health, Medical Faculty, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway; Department of Pediatrics, St Olav University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway.
⁶ Department of Circulation and Medical Imaging, Medical Faculty, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway; Department of Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway; Department of Medical Imaging, St Olav University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway.
⁷ Department of Laboratory Medicine, Children's and Women's Health, Medical Faculty, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway; Department of Pediatrics, Sørlandet Hospital, Arendal, Norway.

PMID: 26939083
DOI: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2016.01.023

Abstract

Background: Being born with very low birth weight (VLBW; birth weight (BW) ≤1500 g) is associated with increased risk of maldevelopment of the immature brain which may affect neurological functioning. Deficits in attention and executive function problems have been reported in VLBW survivors compared with healthy subjects.

Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate attention and executive functions and to relate the clinical test results to cortical morphometry findings in VLBW young adults compared with term-born controls.

Study design: Prospective follow-up study of three year cohorts of VLBW and control children from birth to adulthood.

Outcome measures: A comprehensive neuropsychological test battery was administered to 55 VLBW subjects born preterm (mean BW: 1217 g) and 81 term-born controls (mean BW: 3707 g) at age 19-20. Cerebral MRI was successfully obtained in 46 VLBW subjects and 61 controls. The FreeSurfer software package was applied for the cortical analyses based on T1-weighted MRI images.

Results: The VLBW group obtained inferior scores on 15 of the 29 neuropsychological measures assessing attention and executive function and on both the attention and executive function domain scores. We found positive correlations between the executive function domain score and cortical surface area, especially in the antero-medial frontal and the temporal lobes of the brain in the VLBW group.

Conclusion: Young adults born with VLBW show deficits in attention and executive function compared with controls. The executive problems were related to smaller cortical surface area in brain regions known to be involved in higher order cognitive functioning.

Keywords: Attention; Cerebral MRI; Cortical surface area; Executive function; Preterm birth; Very-low-birth-weight.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adolescent Development*
Attention
Case-Control Studies
Child Development
Executive Function*
Female
Frontal Lobe / growth & development*
Frontal Lobe / physiology
Humans
Infant, Newborn
Infant, Very Low Birth Weight / growth & development*
Male
Temporal Lobe / growth & development*
Temporal Lobe / physiology
Young Adult