Development of Executive Function and Attention in Preterm Children: A Systematic Review

Mulder, Hanna; Pitchford, Nicola; Hagger, Martin S.; Marlow, Neil

doi:10.1080/87565640902964524

Cited by 330 publications

(338 citation statements)

References 107 publications

(160 reference statements)

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“…Researchers suggest that problems with concentration, which can continue on into adulthood, are the most common consequences of the immaturity of the brain at birth (Aarnoudse-Moens, Smidts, Oosterlaan, Duivenvoorden, & Weisglas-Kuperus, 2009;Anderson, 2014;Bhutta, Cleves, Casey, Cradock, & Anand, 2002;Hack et al, 2009;Mulder, Pitchford, Hagger, & Marlow, 2009;Johnson & Marlow, 2011). Johnson and Marlow (2011), in their review of research on the most common problems in premature children, described a pattern of behavior that they defined as phenotypic.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hot and cool executive functions in very and extremely preterm preschool children

Walczak¹,

Chrzan-Dętkoś²

2017

Health Psychology Report

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Background In most countries, premature deliveries constitute 5% to 18% of births. Some preterm children, especially those born before 32 weeks of pregnancy, experience serious medical complications, which can affect their subsequent development and functioning. Even those who have an IQ within the normal range can be at risk of worse functioning. This study aimed to investigate the differences in development of hot and cool aspects of executive functions in children born prematurely in comparison to those born on time. It is also focused on evaluating relationships between executive functions in premature children and their socio-emotional competences. Participants and procedure All children participating in the study were preschoolers. The sample consisted of 20 children born before 32 weeks of gestation and 28 term controls (children born on time). Hot and cool aspects of executive functions were examined in both groups using tasks extracted from the Preschool Self-Regulation Assessment (PSRA). Parents of children born prematurely also completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), which is a brief behavioral screening questionnaire that consists of five scales: emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity/inattention, peer relationship problems and prosocial behavior. Results Premature children scored lower for both hot and cool executive functions in comparison to the children born at term in two of the five tasks. In addition, an association between worse executive functioning and more severe problems was found in the preterm group. This link applies to both general and specific problems, such as hyperactivity/inattention and behavioral problems. Conclusions Prematurely born children may have larger deficits both in hot and cool aspects of executive functions compared to their peers born at term. Deficits in hot aspect may be reflected in hyperactivity/inattention symptoms and conduct problems, whereas difficulties in cool aspect may be more related to the general picture of problems in prematurely born children.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hot and cool executive functions in very and extremely preterm preschool children

Walczak¹,

Chrzan-Dętkoś²

2017

Health Psychology Report

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“…Impaired executive functions including attention, working memory, inhibition and goal maintenance are consistently reported (Aarnoudse-Moens, Weisglas-Kuperuse, van Gourdoever, & Oosterlaan, 2009;Anderson et al, 2011; Anderson & Doyle, 2008; Anderson, Doyle, & Group, 2004;Dupin, Laurent, Stauder, & Saliba, 2000;Mulder, Pitchford, Hagger, & Marlow, 2009). Of particular interest in this paper, is attention.…”

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confidence: 99%

How do you think she feels? Vulnerability in empathy and the role of attention in school‐aged children born extremely preterm

Campbell

Horlin

Reid

et al. 2015

British J of Dev Psycho

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The aim of this study was to examine empathic competence in children born extremely preterm (EP, <28 weeks) given vulnerabilities in social relationships. Empathy in typically developing children is mediated by executive functions. Executive functioning is also impaired in preterm children. Of particular interest in this paper are the attentional components of executive functioning as mediators of empathic development. Thirty-two 7 year-old EP children and 40 age-matched term children participated in the Project K.I.D.S program and completed the K.I.D.S Empathy Development Scale (KEDS), WechslerIntelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV) and Test of Everyday Attention for Children (TEA-Ch). Children born extremely preterm exhibited poorer performance on all measures.The mediating role of attention in empathy competence was not supported by mediation modeling when FSIQ was controlled. As predicted, the EP group showed weaker empathic development relative to typically developing children. They also shower poorer attentional abilities. However, the effect of preterm birth on empathy was not mediated by executivelevel attention. The cognitive mechanisms underpinning poor empathy competence in EP children remain unclear. Future research needs to examine the role of inhibition, socialemotional recognition and regulation. 1The social development of children born extremely preterm is problematic (Gardner, Johnson, Yudkin, & al., 2004;Msall & Park, 2008). Problems in affective and behavioural regulation as well as impoverished social skills are common. Indeed, frank social pathology in this group is evidenced with high risk of autism spectrum features and up to 8% of children born extremely preterm are expected to meet the diagnostic criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), relative to 1% in the general population (CDC, 2006;Meyer, Yee, & Feldon, 2007;Movas & Paneth, 2012). Children born extremely preterm are also reported to have a 2.64 fold risk of receiving an ADHD diagnosis (Bhutta, Cleves, Casey, Cradock, & Anand, 2002). More broadly though, the social difficulties experienced by children born extremely preterm are more prevalent than the incidence of socialcommunication disorders per se. For example, gaze aversion, poor attention to social cues, and fewer social initiation behaviours have been noted in infants as young as four months of age and through their toddler years (Assel et al., 2002;De Schuymer, De Groote, Desoete, & Roeyers, 2011;Farooqi, Hagglof, Sedin, & al., 2007;Landry, Smith, Miller-Loncar, & Swank, 1997;Spittle, Orton, Doyle, & Boyd, 2009). School-aged children born extremely preterm are more likely to exhibit immature social skills with higher incidence of peer problems, difficulty initiating and maintaining friendships, and difficulties interpreting group dynamics and social cues (Anderson & Doyle, 2003;Bhutta et al., 2002;Chapieski & Evankovich, 1997;Hack, 2009; Hille et al., 2001;Msall & Park, 2008;Nadeau, Tessier, Boivin, Lefebvre, & Robaey, 2003;Samara, Marlow, Wolke, & Group, 2008;W...

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“…The literature concerning prematurity and cognitive deficits has mostly addressed children under three years of age (Rose, Jankowski, Feldman, & Van Rossem, 2005), those in primary school, and adolescents (Marlow, Wolke, Bracewell, & Samara, 2005), and few studies have investigated four and five year olds.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neuropsychological assessment and perinatal risk: A study amongst very premature born 4- and 5-year old children

Sanchez-Joya

Sánchez‐Labraca

Roldan-Tapia

et al. 2017

Research in Developmental Disabilities

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Background: Prematurity and its consequences are serious problems that can result in numerous neurosensory disabilities and cerebral cognitive dysfunctions. The Perinatal Risk Index (PERI) might provide a predictive measure of these problems. Aim:This study compared the cognitive development of prematurely born children at 4 and 5 years of age with age-matched peers born at term. The secondary objective was to determine whether a correlation exists between perinatal risk and performance on neuropsychological tests among premature children.Methods: A total of 54 children between four and five years of age were evaluated; 27 were born very premature (premature group; PG), and 27 were born at term (term group; TG). Executive function, attention, memory, language, visual perception, and spatial structuring were evaluated. Subtests from the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, the Rey Complex Figure Test, the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities, the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Test A, Trails A and B, the spatial structuring questionnaire from the Child Neuropsychological Maturity Questionnaire, and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children were used. A PERI score was also obtained for the PG. Results:The PG showed significantly lower scores than the TG in all the studied cognitive domains. Visualperceptive scores were significantly and negatively correlated with the PERI scores of the PG. Conclusions:The PG showed neurocognitive deficits compared with the TG. The PERI can be used to predict the development of visual-perceptive abilities in children between four and five years of age.

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Development of Executive Function and Attention in Preterm Children: A Systematic Review

Cited by 330 publications

References 107 publications

Hot and cool executive functions in very and extremely preterm preschool children

Hot and cool executive functions in very and extremely preterm preschool children

How do you think she feels? Vulnerability in empathy and the role of attention in school‐aged children born extremely preterm

Neuropsychological assessment and perinatal risk: A study amongst very premature born 4- and 5-year old children

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