Neural correlates of executive attention in adults born very preterm
Very preterm birth is associated with an increased prevalence of attention problems and may especially impair executive attention, i.e., top-down control of attentional selection in situations where distracting information interferes with the processing of task-relevant stimuli. While there are init...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2015-01-01
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| Series: | NeuroImage: Clinical |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221315821500162X |
| _version_ | 1818289986997321728 |
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| author | Marcel Daamen Josef G. Bäuml Lukas Scheef Chun Meng Alina Jurcoane Julia Jaekel Christian Sorg Barbara Busch Nicole Baumann Peter Bartmann Dieter Wolke Afra Wohlschläger Henning Boecker |
| author_facet | Marcel Daamen Josef G. Bäuml Lukas Scheef Chun Meng Alina Jurcoane Julia Jaekel Christian Sorg Barbara Busch Nicole Baumann Peter Bartmann Dieter Wolke Afra Wohlschläger Henning Boecker |
| author_sort | Marcel Daamen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Very preterm birth is associated with an increased prevalence of attention problems and may especially impair executive attention, i.e., top-down control of attentional selection in situations where distracting information interferes with the processing of task-relevant stimuli. While there are initial findings linking structural brain alterations in preterm-born individuals with attention problems, the functional basis of these problems are not well understood. The present study used an fMRI adaptation of the Attentional Network Test to examine the neural correlates of executive attention in a large sample of N = 86 adults born very preterm and/or with very low birth weight (VP/VLBW), and N = 100 term-born controls. Executive attention was measured by comparing task behavior and brain activations associated with the processing of incongruent vs. congruent arrow flanker stimuli. Consistent with subtle impairments of executive attention, the VP/VLBW group showed lower accuracy and a tendency for increased response times during the processing of incongruent stimuli. Both groups showed similar activation patters, especially within expected fronto-cingulo-parietal areas, but no significant between-group differences. Our results argue for a maintained attention-relevant network organization in high-functioning preterm born adults in spite of subtle deficits in executive attention. Gestational age and neonatal treatment variables showed associations with task behavior, and brain activation in the dorsal ACC and lateral occipital areas, suggesting that the degree of prematurity (and related neonatal complications) has subtle modulatory influences on executive attention processing. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T02:21:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ea262ee5e1624e3a992030dabd941bed |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2213-1582 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T02:21:00Z |
| publishDate | 2015-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | NeuroImage: Clinical |
| spelling | doaj.art-ea262ee5e1624e3a992030dabd941bed2022-12-22T00:02:47ZengElsevierNeuroImage: Clinical2213-15822015-01-019C58159110.1016/j.nicl.2015.09.002Neural correlates of executive attention in adults born very pretermMarcel Daamen0Josef G. Bäuml1Lukas Scheef2Chun Meng3Alina Jurcoane4Julia Jaekel5Christian Sorg6Barbara Busch7Nicole Baumann8Peter Bartmann9Dieter Wolke10Afra Wohlschläger11Henning Boecker12Department of Radiology, University Hospital Bonn, Sigmund Freud-Str. 25, 53105 Bonn, GermanyDepartment of Neuroradiology, Klinikum Rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Ismaninger str. 22, 81664 Munich, GermanyDepartment of Radiology, University Hospital Bonn, Sigmund Freud-Str. 25, 53105 Bonn, GermanyDepartment of Neuroradiology, Klinikum Rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Ismaninger str. 22, 81664 Munich, GermanyDepartment of Radiology, University Hospital Bonn, Sigmund Freud-Str. 25, 53105 Bonn, GermanyDepartment of Developmental Psychology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Universitätsstraße 150, Bochum 44801, GermanyDepartment of Neuroradiology, Klinikum Rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Ismaninger str. 22, 81664 Munich, GermanyDepartment of Neonatology, University Hospital Bonn, Sigmund Freud-Str. 25, 53105 Bonn, GermanyDepartment of Psychology, University of Warwick, University Road, Coventry CV4 7AL, UKDepartment of Radiology, University Hospital Bonn, Sigmund Freud-Str. 25, 53105 Bonn, GermanyDepartment of Psychology, University of Warwick, University Road, Coventry CV4 7AL, UKDepartment of Neuroradiology, Klinikum Rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Ismaninger str. 22, 81664 Munich, GermanyDepartment of Radiology, University Hospital Bonn, Sigmund Freud-Str. 25, 53105 Bonn, GermanyVery preterm birth is associated with an increased prevalence of attention problems and may especially impair executive attention, i.e., top-down control of attentional selection in situations where distracting information interferes with the processing of task-relevant stimuli. While there are initial findings linking structural brain alterations in preterm-born individuals with attention problems, the functional basis of these problems are not well understood. The present study used an fMRI adaptation of the Attentional Network Test to examine the neural correlates of executive attention in a large sample of N = 86 adults born very preterm and/or with very low birth weight (VP/VLBW), and N = 100 term-born controls. Executive attention was measured by comparing task behavior and brain activations associated with the processing of incongruent vs. congruent arrow flanker stimuli. Consistent with subtle impairments of executive attention, the VP/VLBW group showed lower accuracy and a tendency for increased response times during the processing of incongruent stimuli. Both groups showed similar activation patters, especially within expected fronto-cingulo-parietal areas, but no significant between-group differences. Our results argue for a maintained attention-relevant network organization in high-functioning preterm born adults in spite of subtle deficits in executive attention. Gestational age and neonatal treatment variables showed associations with task behavior, and brain activation in the dorsal ACC and lateral occipital areas, suggesting that the degree of prematurity (and related neonatal complications) has subtle modulatory influences on executive attention processing.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221315821500162XPreterm birthGestational ageAttentional Network TestExecutive attentionAnterior cingulate |
| spellingShingle | Marcel Daamen Josef G. Bäuml Lukas Scheef Chun Meng Alina Jurcoane Julia Jaekel Christian Sorg Barbara Busch Nicole Baumann Peter Bartmann Dieter Wolke Afra Wohlschläger Henning Boecker Neural correlates of executive attention in adults born very preterm NeuroImage: Clinical Preterm birth Gestational age Attentional Network Test Executive attention Anterior cingulate |
| title | Neural correlates of executive attention in adults born very preterm |
| title_full | Neural correlates of executive attention in adults born very preterm |
| title_fullStr | Neural correlates of executive attention in adults born very preterm |
| title_full_unstemmed | Neural correlates of executive attention in adults born very preterm |
| title_short | Neural correlates of executive attention in adults born very preterm |
| title_sort | neural correlates of executive attention in adults born very preterm |
| topic | Preterm birth Gestational age Attentional Network Test Executive attention Anterior cingulate |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221315821500162X |
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