Abstract
Background and aims: Perinatal brain injury in very low birth weight (VLBW) preterms includes grey and white matter damage that affects brain development, and is associated with neurocognitive deficits that persist into adulthood. The aim of study was to investigate the relationship between cortical surface area expansion and different IQ indices in VLBW young adults. Methods: 49 VLBW (birth weight ≤ 1500 grams) and 59 term born controls were examined at the age of 19 with Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale WAIS-III and MRI. An automated MRI technique at 1.5 Tesla for morphometric analyses of regional cortical expansion was performed. Results: Reduced cortical surface area in the VLBW young adults compared with controls were seen mainly in the dorsolateral frontal, temporal and parietal regions, with a strong influence from birth weight, far less from gestational age. The variability in Full IQ in the VLBW group was associated with reduced surface area in specific cortical regions of the brain, with a pattern similar to the localization of the group differences. The IQ indices that corresponded the most to the associations were the Working Memory Index and the Processing Speed Index. No associations were seen between surface area and IQ indices in the control group. Conclusions: This is the first study that links cognitive deficits to deviations in regional cortical development seen as significantly reduced brain surface area in young adults born with VLBW compared to term born controls.
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