B1265 - Brain structure function and associated outcomes in young adults born late-preterm - 10/11/2011
This work will be part of a programme of research investigating neurocognitive, developmental and school performance outcomes in children born late preterm without significant neonatal medical problems or interventions.
Aims: To investigate differences in brain structure and function in young adults born late-preterm (32-36 weeks gestation), compared to those born at term. To investigate functional outcomes among children born late-preterm, including school attainment and measures of impulsivity and attention. To investigate correlations between imaging findings and outcomes from psychometric testing and questionnaires.
Outcome variables:Further analysis of school attainment will be carried out on Key Stage 2, 3 and 4 results, extending the previous work looking at Key Stage 1 results. Psychometric measures from ALSPAC clinics, such as the 'Stop-Signal' task will be compared between those born late-preterm and term. Other measures of impulsivity, such as the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, measured at several time points within ALSPAC, will be examined.
We wish to recall a subgroup of ALSPAC participants who were born late-preterm (n=60), and a control group born at term (n=60), and carry out MRI brain imaging. This will involve three different resting state scans: a) structural brain imaging, b) diffusion tensor imaging, c) resting functional MRI.