Attention development in infants and preschool children born preterm: A review

Weijer-Bergsma, Eva van de; Wijnroks, Lex; Jongmans, Marian J.

doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2007.12.003

Cited by 152 publications

(133 citation statements)

References 87 publications

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“…The rationale of this study was previous findings that preterm infants show more gaze aversion than full term infants in a social context (Field, 1977;1981;Goldberg & DiVitto, 2002;Landry, 1986) and simultaneously show a less optimal development of attention abilities (van der Weijer-Bergsma et al, 2008). The first goal of this study was to replicate these group differences using a more stringent operationalization of look away behavior in the social context and by using eye tracking technology to more accurately measure attention processes in a non-social context.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gaze aversion during social interaction in preterm infants: A function of attention skills?

Schuymer

Groote

Desoete

et al. 2012

Infant Behavior and Development

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Preterm infants avert their gaze more often and for longer periods in early social interactions compared to full term infants. In previous studies this finding is interpreted as being a function of the higher degree of parental stimulation that is often found in parents of preterm children. The current study explores an additional hypothesis. Since the development of general visual attention abilities is found to be less optimal in preterm children, it is possible that less optimal maturation of attention abilities partially explains the elevated gaze aversion in a social context. Therefore, the current study investigated the association between gaze aversion in a social context and the ability to disengage and shift visual attention in a non-social context in 20 preterm and 42 full term infants aged 4 and 6 months. Results confirm that preterm infants are slower to shift their attention in a non-social context and that they avert their gaze more often in a social context compared to full term children.Furthermore, more frequent gaze aversion during social interaction at 6 months was related to longer disengagement and the shifting of attention at 4 and 6 months, but only within the preterm group. The results suggest that attention maturation is less optimal in preterm children; this can be observed in a non-social as well as a social context. Less attention maturation in preterm children can negatively influence the amount of time they can stay actively involved in social interaction.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gaze aversion during social interaction in preterm infants: A function of attention skills?

Schuymer

Groote

Desoete

et al. 2012

Infant Behavior and Development

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“…However, large alterations in brain development remain present throughout childhood and adolescence (1), and surviving very preterm children appear to have pervasive behavioral problems more frequently than term peers (2,3). At school age, attention problems are among the most prominent behavioral deficits in very preterm children (4,5), having a detrimental impact on school performance and social functioning.…”

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confidence: 99%

A crucial role for white matter alterations in interference control problems of very preterm children

et al. 2014

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Background: Attention problems are among the most prominent behavioral deficits reported in very preterm children (below 32 wk of gestation) at school age. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the brain abnormalities underlying attention problems in very preterm children by investigating the role of abnormalities in white and gray brain matter during interference control, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)-guided probabilistic diffusion tensor tractography. Methods: Twenty-nine very preterm children (mean (SD) age: 8.6 (0.3) y), and 47 term controls (mean (SD) age: 8.7 (0.5) y), performed a fMRI version of the Eriksen Flanker task measuring interference control. results: Very preterm children showed slower reaction times than term controls when interfering stimuli were presented, indicating poorer interference control. Very preterm children and term controls did not differ in mean activation of the cortical regions involved in interference control. However, impaired fractional anisotropy (FA) was found in very preterm children in specifically those fiber tracts that innervate the cortical regions involved in interference control. Lower FA was related to poorer interference control in very preterm children. conclusion: White matter alterations have a crucial role in the interference control problems of very preterm children at school age. i mproved perinatal care has increased survival rates of very preterm (<32 wk of gestation) infants. However, large alterations in brain development remain present throughout childhood and adolescence (1), and surviving very preterm children appear to have pervasive behavioral problems more frequently than term peers (2,3). At school age, attention problems are among the most prominent behavioral deficits in very preterm children (4,5), having a detrimental impact on school performance and social functioning.One core aspect of attention is interference control, the ability to suppress distracters that might slow the primary response (6). The brain attention network involved in interference control has been widely investigated using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) tasks including the Eriksen Flanker task (7-9), suggesting involvement of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), inferior and lateral prefrontal cortices, and inferior parietal cortices.This study aims to elucidate brain abnormalities underpinning attention problems in very preterm children, by investigating the role of impairments in white and gray brain matter in interference control in very preterm children and term controls. First, we examined interference control problems and potential differences in cortical activation between very preterm children and term controls using the Eriksen Flanker task adapted for fMRI. Second, by using fMRI-guided probabilistic diffusion tensor tractography, we studied potential differences between very preterm children and term controls in white matter development using values of fractional anisotropy (FA) of specifically those fiber tracts that inne...

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“…Studies have also shown, for example, that receiving an epidural during a vaginal birth was related to poorer attentional orientation in 1-month-old infants, though other birth factors, including length of labor, had no impact (Sepkoski, Lester, Ostheimer, & Brazelton, 1992). Additionally, numerous studies have investigated the attentional effects of being born preterm relative to full-term (e.g., Shum, Neulinger, O'Callaghan, & Mohay, 2008;van de Weijer-Bergsma, Wijnroks, & Jongmans, 2008). None of these studies, or any others, however, have investigated the role that the birth experience itself plays in cognitive development in general, or attentional development in particular.…”

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confidence: 99%

Differential attentional responding in caesarean versus vaginally delivered infants

Adler

Wong-Kee-You

2015

Atten Percept Psychophys

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Little is known about the role that the birth experience plays in brain and cognitive development. Recent research has suggested that birth experience influences the development of the somatosensory cortex, an area involved in spatial attention to sensory information. In this study, we explored whether differences in spatial attention would occur in infants who had different birth experiences, as occurs for caesarean versus vaginal delivery. Three-month-old infants performed either a spatial cueing task or a visual expectation task. We showed that caesarean-delivered infants' stimulus-driven, reflexive attention was slowed relative to vaginally delivered infants', whereas their cognitively driven, voluntary attention was unaffected. Thus, types of birth experience influence at least one form of infants' attention, and possibly any cognitive process that relies on spatial attention. This study also suggests that birth experience influences the initial state of brain functioning and, consequently, should be considered in our understanding of brain development.

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Attention development in infants and preschool children born preterm: A review

Cited by 152 publications

References 87 publications

Gaze aversion during social interaction in preterm infants: A function of attention skills?

Gaze aversion during social interaction in preterm infants: A function of attention skills?

A crucial role for white matter alterations in interference control problems of very preterm children

Differential attentional responding in caesarean versus vaginally delivered infants

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