Association between neonatal brain volume and school-age executive function in children born moderate-to-late preterm
Date
2025
Authors
Rossetti, L.
Pascoe, L.
Mainzer, R.M.
Ellis, R.
Olsen, J.E.
Thompson, D.K.
Doyle, L.W.
Cheong, J.L.Y.
Anderson, P.J.
Editors
Advisors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Type:
Journal article
Citation
Pediatric Research, 2025; 1-8
Statement of Responsibility
Lauren Rossetti, Leona Pascoe, Rheanna M. Mainzer, Rachel Ellis, Joy E. Olsen, Deanne K. Thompson, Lex W. Doyle, Jeanie L. Y. Cheong, and Peter J. Anderson
Conference Name
Abstract
Background: Larger brain volumes in the neonatal period are associated with better 2-year cognitive development in children born moderate-to-late preterm (MLP). Whether these associations persist into school age for executive function (EF) is unknown. Methods: Children born MLP underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at term-equivalent age (n = 168) and EF assessment at 9 years (n = 159). Mean or median differences in EF subdomains (attentional control, cognitive flexibility, goal setting, behavioral EF) for a unit increase in brain volumes were estimated using linear regression, overall and for subgroups defined by gestational age at MRI, sex and excluding participants with developmental delay at 2 years. Results: There were few associations between brain volumes and EF. Small effects were found for larger total tissue (mean difference = 0.16; 95% CI = −0.04, 0.36; p = 0.11), white matter (mean difference = 0.21; 95% CI = 0.05, 0.38; p = 0.01) and subcortical gray matter (mean difference = 0.17; 95% CI = −0.01, 0.34; p = 0.06) volumes and improved goal setting. Subgroup relationships were similar. Conclusion: Neonatal brain volumes in MLP children are not strongly associated with school-age EF. Imaging techniques with higher sensitivity, and other risk factors for poorer EF should be explored.
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Dissertation Note
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OnlinePubl.
Available online 24 July 2025
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© The Author(s) 2025. Open Access. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.