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Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging during Visual Perception Tasks in Adolescents Born Prematurely

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 September 2020

Annika Lind*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland Turku Institute for Advanced Studies (TIAS), University of Turku, Turku, Finland
Leena Haataja
Affiliation:
Children’s Hospital, Pediatric Research Center, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
Marja Laasonen
Affiliation:
Department of Speech and Language Pathology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Phoniatrics, Head and Neck Surgery, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland Department of Psychology and Logopedics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Virva Saunavaara
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Physics, Division of Medical Imaging, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland Turku PET Centre, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
Henry Railo
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
Tuomo Lehtonen
Affiliation:
Department of Ophthalmology, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
Victor Vorobyev
Affiliation:
Department of Radiology, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
Karoliina Uusitalo
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatric Neurology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
Katri Lahti
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatric Neurology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
Riitta Parkkola
Affiliation:
Department of Radiology, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
*
*Correspondence and reprint requests to: Annika Lind, Department of Psychology, University of Turku, 20014Turun yliopisto, Finland. Email: annika.lind@utu.fi

Abstract

Objectives:

Impairments in visual perception are among the most common developmental difficulties related to being born prematurely, and they are often accompanied by problems in other developmental domains. Neural activation in participants born prematurely and full-term during tasks that assess several areas of visual perception has not been studied. To better understand the neural substrates of the visual perceptual impairments, we compared behavioral performance and brain activations during visual perception tasks in adolescents born very preterm (birth weight ≤1500 g or gestational age <32 weeks) and full-term.

Methods:

Tasks assessing visual closure, discrimination of a deviating figure, and discrimination of figure and ground from the Motor-Free Visual Perception Test, Third Edition were performed by participants born very preterm (n = 37) and full-term (n = 34) at 12 years of age during functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Results:

Behavioral performance in the visual perception tasks did not differ between the groups. However, during the visual closure task, brain activation was significantly stronger in the group born very preterm in a number of areas including the frontal, anterior cingulate, temporal, and posterior medial parietal/cingulate cortices, as well as in parts of the cerebellum, thalamus, and caudate nucleus.

Conclusions:

Differing activations during the visual closure task potentially reflect a compensatory neural process related to premature birth or lesser neural efficiency or may be a result of the use of compensatory behavioral strategies in the study group born very preterm.

Type
Regular Research
Copyright
Copyright © INS. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2020

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