Emerging executive skills in very preterm children at 2 years corrected age: a composite assessment.
Executive Function (EF) deficits have previously been identified in preterm children. However, only recently have emerging executive functions been studied in preschool children who were born preterm without major brain damage. Our study provides a broad assessment of EFs in 72 extremely preterm births (gestational age < 34 weeks and birth weight < 2500 g) and 73 full-term children, born between 2006 and 2008, at 24 months of corrected age. Three factors were extracted from the EF administered measures: working memory, cognitive flexibility, and impulsivity control. Only cognitive flexibility was found to discriminate preterm children from controls.
a NICU, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda - Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico , Università degli Studi di Milano , Milan , Italy.
Tiziana
T
Pozzetti
Alessandra
A
Ometto
Silvana
S
Gangi
Odoardo
O
Picciolini
Gisella
G
Presezzi
Laura
L
Gardon
Silvia
S
Pisoni
Fabio
F
Mosca
Gian Marco
GM
Marzocchi
D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology*; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013997:Time Factors