Executive function relates to surface area of frontal and temporal cortex in very-low-birth-weight late teenagers

•Preterm born VLBW late teenagers had inferior scores on tests assessing attention and executive function than term controls•Executive function deficits correlated to reduced surface area in frontal and temporal cortex, but not to thickness•The affected brain regions are known to be involved in higher order cognitive functioning.

BackgroundBeing born with very low birth weight (VLBW; birth weight (BW) ≤ 1500 g) is associated with increased risk of maldevelopment of the immature brain which may affect neurological functioning. Deficits in attention and executive function problems have been reported in VLBW survivors compared with healthy subjects.AimsThe aim of this study was to evaluate attention and executive functions and to relate the clinical test results to cortical morphometry findings in VLBW young adults compared with term-born controls.Study designProspective follow-up study of three year cohorts of VLBW and control children from birth to adulthood.Outcome measuresA comprehensive neuropsychological test battery was administered to 55 VLBW subjects born preterm (mean BW: 1217 g) and 81 term-born controls (mean BW: 3707 g) at age 19–20. Cerebral MRI was successfully obtained in 46 VLBW subjects and 61 controls. The FreeSurfer software package was applied for the cortical analyses based on T1-weighted MRI images.ResultsThe VLBW group obtained inferior scores on 15 of the 29 neuropsychological measures assessing attention and executive function and on both the attention and executive function domain scores. We found positive correlations between the executive function domain score and cortical surface area, especially in the antero-medial frontal and the temporal lobes of the brain in the VLBW group.ConclusionYoung adults born with VLBW show deficits in attention and executive function compared with controls. The executive problems were related to smaller cortical surface area in brain regions known to be involved in higher order cognitive functioning.