Very preterm adolescents show impaired performance with increasing demands in executive function tasks

Wehrle, Flavia M.; Kaufmann, Liane; Benz, Laura D.; Huber, Reto; O’Gorman, Ruth L.; Latal, Beatrice; Hagmann, Cornelia

doi:10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2015.10.021

Cited by 43 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…A total of 45 studies met all the inclusion criteria. Executive function data were provided by 35 of these studies (3360 children born preterm/low birthweight and 2812 term‐born controls) either in the study paper or after a request for additional data sent to the authors . The characteristics and main study results are given in (Tables SI, SII, and SIII, online supporting information; working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility respectively).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Executive function deficits in children born preterm or at low birthweight: a meta‐analysis

Houdt

Oosterlaan

Wassenaer-Leemhuis

et al. 2019

Develop Med Child Neuro

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AimTo investigate the magnitude of executive function deficits and their dependency on gestational age, sex, age at assessment, and year of birth for children born preterm and/or at low birthweight.MethodPubMed, PsychINFO, Web of Science, and ERIC were searched for studies reporting on executive functions in children born preterm/low birthweight and term controls born in 1990 and later, assessed at a mean age of 4 years or higher. Studies were included if five or more studies reported on the same executive function measures.ResultsThirty‐five studies (3360 children born preterm/low birthweight, 2812 controls) were included. Children born preterm/low birthweight performed 0.5 standardized mean difference (SMD) lower on working memory and cognitive flexibility and 0.4 SMD lower on inhibition. SMDs for these executive functions did not significantly differ from each other. Meta‐regression showed that heterogeneity in SMDs for working memory and inhibition could not be explained by study differences in gestational age, sex, age at assessment, or year of birth.InterpretationChildren born preterm/low birthweight since 1990 perform half a SMD below term‐born peers on executive function, which does not seem to improve with more recent advances in medical care or with increasing age.What this paper adds Children born preterm/low birthweight perform below term‐born children on core executive functions.Lower gestational age or male sex are not risk factors for poorer executive functions.Executive function difficulties in children born preterm/low birthweight remain stable across childhood.Executive function difficulties are similar for children born recently and children born in earlier eras.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Executive function deficits in children born preterm or at low birthweight: a meta‐analysis

Houdt

Oosterlaan

Wassenaer-Leemhuis

et al. 2019

Develop Med Child Neuro

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“…62,65,74,77–82 More complex and cognitively demanding tests, such as those requiring a greater load on working memory or more steps to solve a puzzle-type task, have greater sensitivity to subtle impairments, such as those exhibited by children with less extreme prematurity. 69,83–85 …”

Section: Effects Of Preterm Birth On Executive Functionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Executive function in children born preterm: Risk factors and implications for outcome

Taylor

Clark

2016

Seminars in Perinatology

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Executive function (EF) refers to the set of cognitive processes involved in the self-regulation of emotion and goal-directed behavior. These skills and the brain systems that support them develop throughout childhood and are frequently compromised in preterm children, even in those with broadly average global cognitive ability. Risks for deficits in EF in preterm children, and attendant problems in learning and psychosocial functioning, are higher in those with more extreme prematurity, neonatal complications, and related brain abnormalities. Associations of higher levels of EF with more supportive home and school environments suggest a potential for attenuating these risks, especially with early identification. Further research is needed to understand how deficits in EF evolve in preterm children, refine assessment methods, and develop interventions that either promote the development of EF in this population or help children to compensate for these weaknesses.

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“…When executive functioning abilities were assessed on a parent questionnaire (BRIEF), parents showed that both groups had a comparable number of problems relating to inhibition but VPT children had significantly more problems in working memory. Deficits in executive functioning have been reported in VPT populations [Aarnoudse‐Moens et al, ] and other evidence suggests that with older children who had been born very prematurely, differences in those cognitive domains become apparent on tasks with increased executive functioning demands [Wehrle et al, ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, even including those children born VPT without serious health problems, there is evidence for social, cognitive, and academic difficulties [Aarnoudse‐Moens et al, ; Anderson and Doyle, ; Hille et al, ]. Additionally, there is a negative relation between GA and associated difficulties, such that VPT children present with more serious [Bhutta et al, ] and persistent problems throughout development [de Kieviet et al, ; Moster et al, ; Nosarti et al, ; Spittle et al, ; Wehrle et al, ] compared to full‐term (FT) born children. Ritchie et al [] showed that VPT children had poorer social competence than FT children, leading to poor scholastic, occupational and behavioral outcomes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neural correlates of “Theory of Mind” in very preterm born children

Mossad

Smith

Pang

et al. 2017

Human Brain Mapping

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Very preterm (VPT) birth (<32 weeks' gestational age) has been implicated in social-cognitive deficits including Theory of Mind (ToM); the ability to attribute mental states to others and understand that those beliefs can differ from one's own or reality. The neural bases for ToM deficits in VPT born children have not been examined. We used magnetoencephalography (MEG) for its excellent spatial and temporal resolution to determine the neural underpinnings of ToM in 24 VPT and 24 full-term born (FT) children (7-13 years). VPT children performed more poorly on neuropsychological measures of ToM but not inhibition. In the MEG task, both FT children and VPT children recruited regions involved in false belief processing such as the rIFG (VPT: 275-350 ms, FT: 250-375 ms) and left inferior temporal gyrus (VPT: 375-450 ms, FT: 325-375 ms) and right fusiform gyrus (VPT: 150-200 ms, FT: 175-250 ms). The rIPL (included in the temporal-parietal junction) was recruited in FT children (475-575 ms) and the lTPJ in VPT children (500-575 ms). However, activations in all regions were reduced in the VPT compared to the FT group. We suggest that with increasing social-cognitive demands such as varying the type of scenarios in the standardized measure of ToM, reduced activations in the rIFG and TPJ in the VPT group may reflect the decreased performance. With access to both spatial and temporal information, we discuss the role of domain general and specific regions of the ToM network in both groups. Hum Brain Mapp 38:5577-5589, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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Very preterm adolescents show impaired performance with increasing demands in executive function tasks

Cited by 43 publications

References 36 publications

Executive function deficits in children born preterm or at low birthweight: a meta‐analysis

Executive function deficits in children born preterm or at low birthweight: a meta‐analysis

Executive function in children born preterm: Risk factors and implications for outcome

Neural correlates of “Theory of Mind” in very preterm born children

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