Executive function of children with extremely low birthweight: a case control study

Abstract

This study examines the executive function (EF) skills of extremely-low-birthweight (ELBW) children at school compared with their peers. Thirty children with ELBW and 50 control children (both with a mean age of 62+/-4 months) were administered tests of EF including the Tower of Hanoi task, Finger Sequencing task, and Tapping Test. Children with ELBW, including those who scored more than 1 SD below the mean on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised, scored significantly lower than their peers on all executive tasks. There was limited correlation between EF and previous general quotient index scores obtained at routine assessment using the McCarthy Scales of General Ability at 4 years of age for the children with ELBW. Results suggest that children with ELBW are at risk for deficits in 'executive' behaviours including planning, sequencing, and inhibition which may have implications for later learning.

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

“…Studies of inhibition in preterm children have contrasting results, for example, motor inhibition, as measured by the child's ability to make a movement opposite to a movement made by the examiner (tapping test), was found to be significantly impaired when performance of extremely low birth weight children (BW < 1,000 gram) at age 5 years was compared to that of children born at term (Harvey, O'Callaghan, & Mohay, 1999). Several studies have used the NEPSY to assess inhibition skills in preterm children, showing significant group differences in some studies (Bohm et al, 2002;Marlow et al, 2007) but not in others (Olsen et al, 1998;Mikkola et al, 2007).…”

Extremely Preterm Birth Outcome: A Review of Four Decades of Cognitive Research

“…Studies began to examine the stepwise development of executive subcomponents in normal children and adolescents using measures that ranged in degree of required cognitive control (Conklin et al 2007;Luciana et al 2005). In preterm studies, at-risk very low birth weight and extremely low birth weight survivors performed poorly on working memory, verbal fluency, set shifting, interference suppression, inhibition, and behavioral regulation measures, despite average range intelligence (Bohm et al 2004;Caravale et al 2005;Harvey et al 1999;Vicari et al 2004). A prospective longitudinal study of young high-risk preterm children with white matter abnormality detected by magnetic resonance imaging at term equivalent found poor inhibitory control and mental inflexibility persisted from 2 to 4 years of age, even after controlling for IQ, socioeconomic status, and medical variables (Edgin et al 2008).…”

Preschool executive control on the Shape School task: Measurement considerations and utility.

“…Emerging evidence also exists to suggest that these children are subject to EF difficulties during middle childhood and early adolescence. These difficulties are well described over several studies and include difficulties with inhibition (Aarnoudse-Moens, Smidts, Oosterlaan, Duivenvoorden, & Weisglas-Kuperus, 2009;Atkinson & Braddick, 2007;Böhm, Kats-Salamon, Smedler, Lagercrants, & Forssberg, 2002;Katz et al, 1996), sustained attention (Elgen, Lundervold, & Sommerfelt, 2004;Katz et al, 1996;Taylor, Hack, & Kelin, 1998), working memory (Böhm, Smedler, & Forssberg, 2004;Clark & Woodward, 2010;Taylor, Minich, Klein, & Hack, 2004), concept formation (Aarnoudse-Moens et al, 2009), and to lesser a extent, planning (Anderson & Doyle, 2004;Harvey, O'Callaghan, & Mohay, 1999;Luciana, Lindeke, Georgieff, Mills, & Nelson, 1999) and switching (Bayless & Stevenson, 2007;Taylor, Minich, Bangert, Filipek, & Hack, 2004;Tideman, 2000). However, findings are not without inconsistencies (see Mulder, Pitchford, Hagger, & Marlow, 2009), and results are often generalized without regard to variations in experimental paradigms and methodology.…”