Segmental Brain Volumes and Cognitive and Perceptual Correlates in 15-Year-Old Adolescents with Low Birth Weight

Martinussen, Marit; Flanders, Dana W.; Fischl, Bruce; Busa, Evelina; Løhaugen, Gro C.; Skranes, Jon; Vangberg, Torgil R.; Brubakk, Ann-Mari; Haraldseth, Olav; Dale, Anders M.

doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2009.06.015

« Previous Next »The Journal of Pediatrics
Volume 155, Issue 6 , Pages 848-853.e1, December 2009

Segmental Brain Volumes and Cognitive and Perceptual Correlates in 15-Year-Old Adolescents with Low Birth Weight

Marit Martinussen, MD, PhD
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Children's and Women's Health, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
- Department of Gynecology and Maternity Ward, St Olavs University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway
- Reprint requests: Dr Marit Martinussen, Gynecology and Maternity Ward, St Olavs University Hospital, Olav Kyrres gt. 17, N-7006 Trondheim, Norway.
Dana W. Flanders, MD, DSc
- Department of Public Health and General Practice, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
Bruce Fischl, PhD
- Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, MA
Evelina Busa, MSc
- Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
Gro C. Løhaugen, Cand Psychol
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Children's and Women's Health, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
- Department of Pediatrics, Sorlandet Hospital, Arendal, Norway
Jon Skranes, MD, PhD
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Children's and Women's Health, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
- Department of Pediatrics, Sorlandet Hospital, Arendal, Norway
- Department of Pediatrics, St Olavs University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway
Torgil R. Vangberg, PhD
- Department of Circulation and Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
- Department of Radiology Medical Faculty, University of Tromso, Tronso, Norway
Ann-Mari Brubakk, MD, PhD
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Children's and Women's Health, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
- Department of Pediatrics, St Olavs University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway
Olav Haraldseth, MD, PhD
- Department of Circulation and Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
- Department of Medical Imaging, St Olavs University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway
Anders M. Dale, PhD
- Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, MA
- Department of Circulation and Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
- Department of Neuroscience and Radiology, University of California, San Diego, CA

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.

ICV, Intracranial volume, IQ, Intelligence quotient, SGA, Small for gestational age, VLBW, Very low birth weight, VMI, Developmental test of visual-motor integration

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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.

PII: S0022-3476(09)00569-1

doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2009.06.015

« Previous Next »The Journal of Pediatrics
Volume 155, Issue 6 , Pages 848-853.e1, December 2009

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