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Hippocampal Volume and Memory and Learning Outcomes at 7 Years in Children Born Very Preterm

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 August 2013

Cristina Omizzolo
Affiliation:
Victorian Infant Brain Studies, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Department of Psychology, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Deanne K. Thompson
Affiliation:
Victorian Infant Brain Studies, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Centre for Neuroscience, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Shannon E. Scratch
Affiliation:
Victorian Infant Brain Studies, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Robyn Stargatt
Affiliation:
Victorian Infant Brain Studies, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Department of Psychology, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Katherine J. Lee
Affiliation:
Victorian Infant Brain Studies, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Jeanie Cheong
Affiliation:
Victorian Infant Brain Studies, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, The University of Melbourne, Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Gehan Roberts
Affiliation:
Victorian Infant Brain Studies, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Lex W. Doyle
Affiliation:
Victorian Infant Brain Studies, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, The University of Melbourne, Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Peter J. Anderson*
Affiliation:
Victorian Infant Brain Studies, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to: Peter Anderson, Victorian Infant Brain Studies (VIBeS), Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Childrens Hospital, Flemington Road, Parkville, Victoria, 3052. E-mail: peter.anderson@mcri.edu.au

Abstract

Using magnetic resonance imaging, this study compared hippocampal volume between 145 very preterm children and 34 children born full-term at 7 years of age. The relationship between hippocampal volume and memory and learning impairments at 7 years was also investigated. Manual hippocampal segmentation and subsequent three-dimensional volumetric analysis revealed reduced hippocampal volumes in very preterm children compared with term peers. However, this relationship did not remain after correcting for whole brain volume and neonatal brain abnormality. Contrary to expectations, hippocampal volume in the very preterm cohort was not related to memory and learning outcomes. Further research investigating the effects of very preterm birth on more extensive networks in the brain that support memory and learning in middle childhood is needed. (JINS, 2013, 19, 1–11)

Type
Symposia
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2013 

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