Segmental Brain Volumes and Cognitive and Perceptual Correlates in 15-Year-Old Adolescents with Low Birth Weight
Received 15 December 2008; received in revised form 5 May 2009; accepted 9 June 2009. published online 17 August 2009.
Objective
To determine whether preterm very low birth weight (VLBW) or term born small for gestational age (SGA) adolescents have reduced regional brain volumes. We also asked which perinatal factors are related to reduced brain volume in VLBW adolescents, which regional brain volumes are associated with cognitive and perceptual functioning, and if these differ between the groups.
Study design
Fifty adolescent preterm VLBW (≤1500 g) births and 49 term SGA births (birth weight <10th percentile) were compared with 57 normal-weight term births. An automated MRI segmentation technique was used. Cognitive and perceptual functions were evaluated by WISC-III and Visual Motor Integration (VMI) tests.
Results
The VLBW group had reduced volumes for thalamus and cerebellar white matter (P < .002). The SGA group had smaller total brains, and proportionally smaller regional brain volumes. Cerebellar white matter in the VLBW, hippocampus in the SGA, and cerebral cortical in the control group were volumes that significantly predicted cognitive and perceptual functions.
Conclusions
We speculate that white matter injury may explain the impaired cognitive and perceptual functioning in the prematurely born, whereas hippocampal injury may be related to cognitive dysfunction in term SGA adolescents.
aDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, Children's and Women's Health, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
bDepartment of Gynecology and Maternity Ward, St Olavs University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway
cDepartment of Public Health and General Practice, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
dNuclear Magnetic Resonance Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
eMIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, MA
fDepartment of Pediatrics, Sorlandet Hospital, Arendal, Norway
gDepartment of Pediatrics, St Olavs University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway
hDepartment of Circulation and Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
iDepartment of Radiology Medical Faculty, University of Tromso, Tronso, Norway
jDepartment of Medical Imaging, St Olavs University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway
kDepartment of Neuroscience and Radiology, University of California, San Diego, CA
Reprint requests: Dr Marit Martinussen, Gynecology and Maternity Ward, St Olavs University Hospital, Olav Kyrres gt. 17, N-7006 Trondheim, Norway.
Funding information available at www.jpeds.com (Appendix). A.M.D. and B.F. are funded by CorTechs Labs, Inc. A.M.D. has equity in CorTechs Labs, Inc. The other authors declare no conflicts of interest.
ABSTRACT