White matter microstructure correlates with mathematics but not word reading performance in 13-year-old children born very preterm and full-term

Simonne E. Collins; Megan Spencer-Smith; Ines Mürner-Lavanchy; Claire E. Kelly; Philippa Pyman; Leona Pascoe; Jeanie Cheong; Lex W. Doyle; Deanne K. Thompson; Peter J. Anderson

NeuroImage: Clinical (Jan 2019)

White matter microstructure correlates with mathematics but not word reading performance in 13-year-old children born very preterm and full-term

Simonne E. Collins,
Megan Spencer-Smith,
Ines Mürner-Lavanchy,
Claire E. Kelly,
Philippa Pyman,
Leona Pascoe,
Jeanie Cheong,
Lex W. Doyle,
Deanne K. Thompson,
Peter J. Anderson

Affiliations

Simonne E. Collins: Victorian Infant Brain Studies, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia; Developmental Imaging, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Megan Spencer-Smith: Victorian Infant Brain Studies, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
Ines Mürner-Lavanchy: Victorian Infant Brain Studies, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia; University Hospital of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Claire E. Kelly: Victorian Infant Brain Studies, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Developmental Imaging, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Philippa Pyman: Victorian Infant Brain Studies, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
Leona Pascoe: Victorian Infant Brain Studies, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
Jeanie Cheong: Victorian Infant Brain Studies, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Neonatal Services, The Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
Lex W. Doyle: Victorian Infant Brain Studies, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Neonatal Services, The Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
Deanne K. Thompson: Victorian Infant Brain Studies, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne, Australia; Developmental Imaging, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Peter J. Anderson: Victorian Infant Brain Studies, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia; Corresponding author at: Victorian Infant Brain Studies, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 24

Abstract

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Individuals born very preterm (VPT; 1 standard deviation below FT mean) had significantly reduced neurite density compared with VPT children without an impairment. Reading performance was not significantly associated with any of the white matter microstructure parameters. Additionally, the associations between white matter microstructure and mathematics and reading performance did not differ significantly between VPT and FT groups. Our findings suggest that alterations in white matter microstructure, and more specifically lower neurite density, are associated with poorer mathematics performance in 13-year-old VPT and FT children. More research is required to understand the association between reading performance and white matter microstructure in 13-year-old children. Keywords: Very preterm, Prematurity, Academic performance, Diffusion imaging, White matter

Published in NeuroImage: Clinical

ISSN: 2213-1582 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: Netherlands
LCC subjects: Medicine: Medicine (General): Computer applications to medicine. Medical informatics; Medicine: Internal medicine: Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry: Neurology. Diseases of the nervous system
Website: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/neuroimage-clinical/

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