title: The relationship between periventricular brain injury and deficits in visual processing among extremely-low-birthweight (< 1000 g) children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the relationship between neonatal, periventricular brain damage and visuomotor performance in extremely-low-birthweight (ELBW) children of normal intelligence whose birthweights were appropriate for gestational age (AGA).
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventy-eight ELBW and 23 control children, all six years of age, completed two "motor-free" tests of visual spatial ability and three tests requiring visuomotor control.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Full-term control children outperformed ELBW children with periventricular brain damage on all three tests requiring visuomotor guidance. No group differences were found on two "motor-free" tests of visual spatial ability. ELBW children without periventricular brain damage performed in a manner indistinguishable from controls on all tests included in this study.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings indicate that the presence and severity of periventricular brain injury are important factors to consider in predicting visuomotor development in ELBW children.
authors.affiliation: University of Manitoba, Canada. jakobson@ms.umanitoba.ca
authors.forename: L S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Jakobson
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Frisk
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Knight
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Downie
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Whyte
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007235:Infant, Premature, Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight; D007360:Intelligence; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011596:Psychomotor Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D012016:Reference Values