title: White matter abnormalities and impaired attention abilities in children born very preterm.
abstract: While attention impairments are commonly observed in very preterm (<32weeks' gestational age) children, neuroanatomical correlates of these difficulties are unclear. We aimed to determine whether the microstructural organization of key white matter tracts thought to be involved in attention (cingulum bundle, superior longitudinal fasciculi, reticular activating system, and corpus callosum) were altered in very preterm children compared with term-born controls. We also aimed to determine whether alterations in microstructural organization of these tracts were associated with attention functioning in very preterm children. One hundred and forty-nine very preterm children and 36 term-born controls underwent neuroimaging and assessment of their attention abilities at 7years. Constrained spherical deconvolution and probabilistic tractography was used to identify the key white matter tracts. Altered microstructural organization and reduced tract volume within reticular activating system and corpus callosum were found in the very preterm group compared with the control group. Diffusion and volume changes in the cingulum bundle, superior longitudinal fasciculi, reticular activating system, and corpus callosum were related to variations in attention functioning in the very preterm children. These findings emphasize that white matter tract integrity is associated with later attentional abilities in very preterm children.
authors: Victorian Infant Brain Studies, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia; Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
authors: Andrea L
authors: AL
authors: Murray
authors: Victorian Infant Brain Studies, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia; The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia.
authors: Deanne K
authors: DK
authors: Thompson
authors: Victorian Infant Brain Studies, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia.
authors: Leona
authors: L
authors: Pascoe
authors: Image Sciences Institute, University Medical Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors: Alexander
authors: A
authors: Leemans
authors: Victorian Infant Brain Studies, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Pediatric Newborn Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors: Terrie E
authors: TE
authors: Inder
authors: Victorian Infant Brain Studies, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia; Research Office, The Royal Women's Hospital, Grattan Street, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, The University of Melbourne, Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia.
authors: Lex W
authors: LW
authors: Doyle
authors: Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Psychology, The Alfred, Alfred Health, Melbourne, Australia.
authors: Jacqueline F I
authors: JFI
authors: Anderson
authors: Victorian Infant Brain Studies, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia. Electronic address: peter.anderson@mcri.edu.au.
authors: Peter J
authors: PJ
authors: Anderson
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D002648:Child; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D062071:Infant, Extremely Premature; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D066127:White Matter / Q000473:pathology*
keywords: Attention; Diffusion-weighted imaging; Magnetic resonance imaging; Very preterm; White matter injury