Loe Irene M, Adams Jenna N, Feldman Heidi M
Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States.
Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States.
Front Pediatr. 2019 Jan 15;6:418. doi: 10.3389/fped.2018.00418. eCollection 2018.
Executive function (EF) refers to cognitive abilities used to guide goal-directed behavior. Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) provides quantitative characterization of white matter tracts in the brain. Children with preterm birth often have EF impairments and white matter injury. To examine the degree of association between EF scores and white matter fractional anisotropy (FA) as measured by DTI in children born preterm and term Cross-sectional study Participants, 9-16 years of age, born preterm ( = 25; mean gestational age 28.6 weeks; mean birth weight 1,191 grams), and full term ( = 20) White matter FA analyzed with Tract-Based Spatial Statistics, a technique that generates a skeleton representing the core of white matter tracts throughout the brain. Behavioral scores from EF tasks examining working memory, spatial memory capacity, and multiple skills from the Stockings of Cambridge. The groups performed comparably on all tasks. In both groups, unfavorable working memory strategy scores were associated with lower FA. Other measures of EF were not associated with whole skeleton FA in either group in either direction. Strategy score on a spatial working memory task was associated with FA in preterm and full term children, suggesting common underlying neurobiology in both groups. Associations were found in frontal-parietal connections and other major tracts. Lack of associations between other EF tasks and FA may be due to variation in how children accomplish these EF tasks. Future research is required to fully understand the neurobiology of EF in children born preterm.
执行功能（EF）是指用于指导目标导向行为的认知能力。扩散张量成像（DTI）可对大脑中的白质束进行定量表征。早产儿童往往存在执行功能障碍和白质损伤。为了研究早产和足月出生儿童的执行功能得分与通过DTI测量的白质分数各向异性（FA）之间的关联程度，进行了横断面研究。参与者年龄在9至16岁之间，包括早产儿童（n = 25；平均胎龄28.6周；平均出生体重1191克）和足月出生儿童（n = 20）。使用基于体素的空间统计学分析白质FA，该技术可生成一个代表全脑白质束核心的骨架。通过执行功能任务的行为得分来评估工作记忆、空间记忆能力以及剑桥长袜任务中的多种技能。两组在所有任务上的表现相当。在两组中，不良的工作记忆策略得分均与较低的FA相关。两组中执行功能的其他测量指标与全脑骨架FA在任何方向上均无关联。空间工作记忆任务的策略得分与早产和足月出生儿童的FA相关，这表明两组存在共同的潜在神经生物学机制。在额顶叶连接和其他主要束中发现了关联。其他执行功能任务与FA之间缺乏关联可能是由于儿童完成这些执行功能任务的方式存在差异。需要进一步的研究来全面了解早产儿童执行功能的神经生物学机制。
