Department of Laboratory Medicine, Children's and Women's Health, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
Cortex. 2013 Sep;49(8):2264-71. doi: 10.1016/j.cortex.2013.06.001. Epub 2013 Jun 19.
Quantitative MRI measurements have revealed abnormalities in cortical development in children born preterm with very-low-birth-weight (VLBW). These children also have increased risk of cognitive deficits that persist into adulthood. The aim of this study was to investigate cortical surface area in VLBW young adults at age 19 compared with controls and to see whether surface area change was associated with cognitive function in the VLBW group.
Thirty-eight VLBW (BW ≤ 1500 g) and 59 control participants were included in the study. Cognitive function was assessed by Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)-III. The MRI scanning was performed at 1.5 T, and for the morphometric analyses of cortical surface area the FreeSurfer software was used.
Reduction in cortical surface area was seen in ventrolateral prefrontal, temporal and parietal regions in the VLBW group. Intelligence quotient (IQ) scores were reduced and correlated with surface area reduction in superior and inferior frontal gyri, and in medial temporal and occipital regions in the VLBW group. Brodmann areas (BAs) included in the group differences and in the IQ correlation in the VLBW group were located to the inferior frontal gyrus (BA 11, 12, 44, 45, 47), isthmus (BA 25), the superior parietal (BA 7), the inferior temporal (BA 20) and the parahippocampal gyri (BA 28, 34, 35, 36, 37). The IQ indices that made the largest contribution to the associations between IQ and surface areal change in the VLBW group were the Working Memory and the Processing Speed indices.
Our study indicates that permanent deviations in cortical surface area still present in adulthood may explain the increased prevalence of cognitive impairments in preterm born VLBW individuals.
定量磁共振测量显示，极低出生体重（VLBW）早产儿的皮质发育存在异常。这些儿童在成年后也有认知缺陷的风险增加。本研究的目的是比较 19 岁时 VLBW 年轻成年人的皮质表面积，并观察表面积变化是否与 VLBW 组的认知功能有关。
研究纳入了 38 名 VLBW（BW≤1500g）和 59 名对照组参与者。认知功能通过韦氏成人智力量表（WAIS-III）进行评估。MRI 扫描在 1.5T 下进行，皮质表面积的形态计量分析使用 FreeSurfer 软件进行。
VLBW 组的腹外侧前额叶、颞叶和顶叶区域可见皮质表面积减少。智商（IQ）评分降低，与 VLBW 组额上、额下回以及颞叶和枕叶区域的皮质表面积减少相关。包括在 VLBW 组差异和 IQ 相关性中的 Brodmann 区（BA）位于额下回（BA 11、12、44、45、47）、岛叶（BA 25）、顶叶上回（BA 7）、颞下回（BA 20）和海马旁回（BA 28、34、35、36、37）。对 VLBW 组 IQ 与皮质表面积变化之间相关性贡献最大的 IQ 指数是工作记忆和加工速度指数。
我们的研究表明，皮质表面积的永久性偏差在成年期仍然存在，这可能解释了早产儿 VLBW 个体认知缺陷的高发率。
