LATE NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL OUTCOMES IN PRETERM INFANTS OF NORMAL IQ - SELECTIVE VULNERABILITY OF THE VISUAL-SYSTEM

Evaluated neuropsychological outcomes in 635 children, ages 7 to 10 ye ars, in relation to birth weight group: less than or equal to 1,000 g; 1,001-1,500 g; 1,501-2,500 g, and > 2,500 g. The prevalence of low le (<85) was related to birth weight. Among children with Ie > 84 (N = 4 75): (a) Birth weight was unrelated to Verbal le, Performance Ie, Full -scale Ie, or reading achievement; (b) extremely low birth weight (ELB W) children achieved more poorly in mathematics than did other birth w eight groups (p < .05); (c) ELBW and very low birth weight children pe rformed more poorly on the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure, a complex vi sual processing task, than did heavier birth weight children (p < .05) , but performance on the Beery Test of Visuomotor Integration was not related to birth weight. Results are consistent with heightened neurob ehavioral vulnerability of visual processing To preterm birth.