EVALUATION OF THE CORPUS-CALLOSUM IN CLUMSY CHILDREN BORN PREMATURELY- A FUNCTIONAL AND MORPHOLOGICAL-STUDY

The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of functional and neuroradiological abnormalities of the corpus callosum in a group of 2 1 prematurely born children (CA <34 weeks) who were found to be ''clum sy'' on the Movement Assessment Battery for Children at 6 years of age . All children underwent functional and morphological assessment of th e corpus callosum. The functional assessment included tests of somesth esis, diadochokinesis and repetitive finger tapping. The morphology of the corpus callosum was evaluated on midsagittal MRI. Thirteen of the 21 clumsy children showed morphological abnormalities which were sign ificantly associated with functional abnormalities. Morphological chan ges of the corpus callosum were also significantly associated with les ions On both neonatal ultrasound and late MRI. Our results support the view that morphological abnormalities of the corpus callosum are freq uent in children born prematurely The association between these abnorm alities and lesions on US or MRI suggests that they are likely to be s econdary to pre- or perinatal lesions.