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Neuropsychological outcome at adolescence of very preterm birth and its relation to brain structure

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2001

T M Rushe ,
L Rifkin ,
A L Stewart ,
J P Townsend ,
S C Roth ,
J S Wyatt  and
R M Murray
T M Rushe
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology and Communication, University of Ulster at Jordanstown, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
L Rifkin
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College London, UK.
A L Stewart
Affiliation:
Department of Paediatrics, University College London School of Medicine, UK.
J P Townsend
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College London, UK.
S C Roth
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College London, UK.
J S Wyatt
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College London, UK.
R M Murray
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College London, UK.
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Abstract

Neuropsychological outcome at 14 to 15 years of age of a cohort of 75 participants(39 male, 36 female) born at <33 weeks' gestation was investigated. Research was conducted parallel to a recent MRI study by Stewart and colleagues which reported that 55% of this cohort had evidence of brain abnormality. One aim of the study was to compare neuropsychological function in those very preterm children with and without MRI abnormality. Compared to a control sample of term adolescents, very preterm participants had impairment only on a measure of word production. On measures of attention, memory, perceptual skill, and visuomotor and executive function, the adolescents born very preterm performed in the normal range, whether or not they had evidence of MRI abnormality. Our findings are encouraging as the neuropsychological consequences of damage to the very preterm brain, still evident on MRI at 14 to 15 years of age, appear to be minor.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology , Volume 43 , Issue 4 , April 2001 , pp. 226 - 233
Copyright
© 2001 Mac Keith Press

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