ArticlePediatric research2020
Altered brain metabolism contributes to executive function deficits in school-aged children born very preterm.
Article in Pediatric research, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.
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14 citing papers in PubMed, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Neonatal sleep physiology and early executive functioning in preterm children.Pediatric research · 2026Article
- Early life brain network connectivity antecedents of executive function in children born preterm.Communications biology · 2025Article
- Enhancing daily life for children with cognitive developmental delay through insights into brain development.Pediatric research · 2024Review
- The cumulative impact of clinical risk on brain networks and associations with executive function impairments in adolescents with congenital heart disease.Human brain mapping · 2024Article
- Review
- Impact of bronchopulmonary dysplasia on brain GABA concentrations in preterm infants: Prospective cohort study.Early human development · 2023Article
- Neurometabolic changes in neonates with congenital heart defects and their relation to neurodevelopmental outcome.Pediatric research · 2023Article
- Application of magnetic resonance imaging-related techniques in the diagnosis of sepsis-associated encephalopathy: present status and prospect.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2023Review
- Classification of temporal lobe epilepsy based on neuropsychological tests and exploration of its underlying neurobiology.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2023Article
- Neurobehavioral Phenotype and Dysexecutive Syndrome of Preterm Children: Comorbidity or Trigger? An Update.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Disrupted metabolic and spontaneous neuronal activity of hippocampus in sepsis associated encephalopathy rats: A study combining magnetic resonance spectroscopy and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2022Article
- Reply to comment: "Brain creatine alteration and executive function deficits in children born very preterm".Pediatric research · 2021Article
- Altered white matter microstructure is related to cognition in adults with congenital heart disease.Brain communications · 2021Article
- Brain creatine alteration and executive function deficits in children born very preterm.Pediatric research · 2020Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundExecutive function deficits in children born very preterm (VPT) have been linked to anatomical abnormalities in white matter and subcortical brain structures. This study aimed to investigate how altered brain metabolism contributes to these deficits in VPT children at school-age.
methodsFifty-four VPT participants aged 8-13 years and 62 term-born peers were assessed with an executive function test battery. Brain metabolites were obtained in the frontal white matter and the basal ganglia/thalami, using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). N-acetylaspartate (NAA)/creatine (Cr), choline (Cho)/Cr, glutamate + glutamine (Glx)/Cr, and myo-Inositol (mI)/Cr were compared between groups and associations with executive functions were explored using linear regression.
resultsIn the frontal white matter, VPT showed lower Glx/Cr (mean difference: -5.91%, 95% CI [-10.50, -1.32]), higher Cho/Cr (7.39%, 95%-CI [2.68, 12.10]), and higher mI/Cr (5.41%, 95%-CI [0.18, 10.64]) while there were no differences in the basal ganglia/thalami. Lower executive functions were associated with lower frontal Glx/Cr ratios in both groups (β = 0.16, p = 0.05) and higher mI/Cr ratios in the VPT group only (interaction: β = -0.17, p = 0.02).
conclusionLong-term brain metabolite alterations in the frontal white matter may be related to executive function deficits in VPT children at school-age. IMPACT: Very preterm birth is associated with long-term brain metabolite alterations in the frontal white matter. Such alterations may contribute to deficits in executive function abilities. Injury processes in the brain can persist for years after the initial insult. Our findings provide new insights beyond structural and functional imaging, which help to elucidate the processes involved in abnormal brain development following preterm birth. Ultimately, this may lead to earlier identification of children at risk for developing deficits and more effective interventions.
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