title: Executive function relates to surface area of frontal and temporal cortex in very-low-birth-weight late teenagers.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Being born with very low birth weight (VLBW; birth weight (BW) ≤1500 g) is associated with increased risk of maldevelopment of the immature brain which may affect neurological functioning. Deficits in attention and executive function problems have been reported in VLBW survivors compared with healthy subjects.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to evaluate attention and executive functions and to relate the clinical test results to cortical morphometry findings in VLBW young adults compared with term-born controls.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective follow-up study of three year cohorts of VLBW and control children from birth to adulthood.
  
  
  METHODS
  A comprehensive neuropsychological test battery was administered to 55 VLBW subjects born preterm (mean BW: 1217 g) and 81 term-born controls (mean BW: 3707 g) at age 19-20. Cerebral MRI was successfully obtained in 46 VLBW subjects and 61 controls. The FreeSurfer software package was applied for the cortical analyses based on T1-weighted MRI images.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The VLBW group obtained inferior scores on 15 of the 29 neuropsychological measures assessing attention and executive function and on both the attention and executive function domain scores. We found positive correlations between the executive function domain score and cortical surface area, especially in the antero-medial frontal and the temporal lobes of the brain in the VLBW group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Young adults born with VLBW show deficits in attention and executive function compared with controls. The executive problems were related to smaller cortical surface area in brain regions known to be involved in higher order cognitive functioning.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Children's and Women's Health, Medical Faculty, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
authors.forename: Heidi Furre
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Østgård
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Children's and Women's Health, Medical Faculty, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway. Electronic address: anne.e.solsnes@ntnu.no.
authors.forename: Anne Elisabeth
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Sølsnes
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Children's and Women's Health, Medical Faculty, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
authors.forename: Knut Jørgen
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Bjuland
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Children's and Women's Health, Medical Faculty, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway; Department of Medicine, University of Haw, ai'i, Honolulu, HI, USA.
authors.forename: Lars Morten
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Rimol
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Children's and Women's Health, Medical Faculty, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway; Department of Obstetrics, St Olav University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway.
authors.forename: Marit
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Martinussen
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Children's and Women's Health, Medical Faculty, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway; Department of Pediatrics, St Olav University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway.
authors.forename: Ann-Mari
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Brubakk
authors.affiliation: Department of Circulation and Medical Imaging, Medical Faculty, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway; Department of Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway; Department of Medical Imaging, St Olav University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway.
authors.forename: Asta Kristine
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Håberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Children's and Women's Health, Medical Faculty, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway; Department of Pediatrics, Sørlandet Hospital, Arendal, Norway.
authors.forename: Jon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Skranes
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Children's and Women's Health, Medical Faculty, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway; Department of Pediatrics, Sørlandet Hospital, Arendal, Norway.
authors.forename: Gro Christine Christensen
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Løhaugen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D041923:Adolescent Development; D001288:Attention; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002657:Child Development; D056344:Executive Function; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight / Q000254:growth & development*; D008297:Male; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Attention; Cerebral MRI; Cortical surface area; Executive function; Preterm birth; Very-low-birth-weight