Segmental brain volumes and cognitive and perceptual correlates in 15-year-old adolescents with low birth weight.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether preterm very low birth weight (VLBW) or term born small for gestational age (SGA) adolescents have reduced regional brain volumes. We also asked which perinatal factors are related to reduced brain volume in VLBW adolescents, which regional brain volumes are associated with cognitive and perceptual functioning, and if these differ between the groups.


METHODS
Fifty adolescent preterm VLBW (< or =1500 g) births and 49 term SGA births (birth weight <10th percentile) were compared with 57 normal-weight term births. An automated MRI segmentation technique was used. Cognitive and perceptual functions were evaluated by WISC-III and Visual Motor Integration (VMI) tests.


RESULTS
The VLBW group had reduced volumes for thalamus and cerebellar white matter (P < .002). The SGA group had smaller total brains, and proportionally smaller regional brain volumes. Cerebellar white matter in the VLBW, hippocampus in the SGA, and cerebral cortical in the control group were volumes that significantly predicted cognitive and perceptual functions.


CONCLUSIONS
We speculate that white matter injury may explain the impaired cognitive and perceptual functioning in the prematurely born, whereas hippocampal injury may be related to cognitive dysfunction in term SGA adolescents.
Martinussen
Marit
M
Department of Laboratory Medicine, Children's and Women's Health, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway. marit.martinussen@ntnu.no
Flanders
Dana W
DW
Fischl
Bruce
B
Busa
Evelina
E
Løhaugen
Gro C
GC
Skranes
Jon
J
Vangberg
Torgil R
TR
Brubakk
Ann-Mari
AM
Haraldseth
Olav
O
Dale
Anders M
AM
D000293:Adolescent; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D007235:Infant, Premature, Diseases / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D007236:Infant, Small for Gestational Age; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight; D007360:Intelligence / Q000502:physiology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D012307:Risk Factors
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