PSYCHOLOGICAL FINDINGS IN PRETERM CHILDREN RELATED TO NEUROLOGIC STATUS AND MAGNETIC-RESONANCE-IMAGING

Objective. Preterm children experience learning disabilities more ofte n than full-term children, but detailed information on their neuropsyc hological and neurologic determinants is lacking. We therefore examine d these problems more closely and also studied if clinical neurologic examination and/or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be used as too ls to screen the preterm children at risk for these problems. Methods. In a population-based study, the psychological performance of 42 pret erm children with a birth weight <1750 g and of their matched controls was assessed at 8 years of age and the findings were then related to clinical neurologic examination and MRT. Learning disabilities of thes e children, reported by the teachers, were also studied. Results. The cognitive ability of the preterm children, although in the normal rang e, was significantly lower than that of the control children. They per formed particularly poorly in tasks requiring spatial and visuopercept ual abilities, which were associated with the finding of periventricul ar leukomalacia in MRI, especially with posterior ventricular enlargem ent. The preterm children with minor neurodevelopmental dysfunction (M ND) had the most problems in neuropsychological tests, whereas the cli nically healthy preterm children and those with cerebral palsy had few er problems. The problems of MND children emerged in the domain of att ention. They also experienced the most problems at school. Conclusions . Visuospatial problems were associated with periventricular leukomala cia in MRI, but learning disabilities were most frequent among the pre term children with minor neurologic abnormalities. We recommend closer follow-up of preterm children with MND.