Does preterm birth affect global and configural processing differently?
OBJECTIVE
We investigated whether preterm birth affects later visuocognitive function and, in particular, whether it affects global and configural perceptual processing differently.


METHODS
We compared the performance of 21 healthy preterm children (8 females, 13 males; mean age 7 y 8 mo, SD 8 mo; mean gestational age 29.3 wks, SD 1.9; mean birthweight 1186.5 g, SD 377.2) with that of a matched term comparison group (8 females, 13 males; mean age 7 y 11 mo, SD 1 y 1 mo; mean gestational age >37 wks; mean birthweight >2500 g) in two perceptual tasks pinpointing differences between local and global and between local and configural processing.


RESULTS
There was no difference between preterm and term children's global processing, as both groups showed a bias towards global information (preterm: t[1,20]=2.6, p=0.01; comparison group: t[1,20]=3.0, p=0.01). By contrast, no such typical pattern of performance was found for configural processing as, unlike the comparison group (t[1,20]=7.1, p<0.001), preterm children preferentially relied on local rather than on configural information (t[1,20]=-15.4, p<0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that preterm birth may have a greater influence on the development of later perceptual skills than originally envisaged. We discuss the results according to the current and dominant view of the visual system.
Santos
Andreia
A
Mediterranean Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience-CNRS, Marseille, France. andreia.santos@incm.cnrs-mrs.fr
Duret
Marie
M
Mancini
Josette
J
Busuttil
Muriel
M
Deruelle
Christine
C
D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D008297:Male; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D010468:Perceptual Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index