Executive Function in Preterm Born Children: An Integrative Approach From Genetics to Brain Function

Hd-EEG and MRI measures are used to study the maturation of functional networks in order to identify the neural circuits underlying executive and memory processes in children born preterm. It will be determined whether children born preterm with executive function deficits will have an abnormal connectivity between basal ganglia and cortex due to WM injury. Moreover, the development of hd-EEG activity during sleep (coherence and travelling waves) and brain maturation of children and adolescents born preterm will be compared with the respective measures in healthy controls. This is of eminent importance as it helps to understand the nature of executive function and hence, it may help to develop neuroprotective strategies to prevent executive function deficits in these infants.

Inclusion criteria:

• Schoolchildren between 10 and 12 or 14 and 16 (born between 1996 and 1998 or between 2000 and 2002)
• Preterm group: born <32 weeks of gestation
• Control group: siblings or friends of preterm group in one of the two age groups

Exclusion criteria:

• Preterm Group: MDI < 85 at 5 years of age; cerebral palsy
• Control Group: born <37 weeks of gestation