Altered association of cortical thickness with cognitive abilities in very preterm children at 6 years of age

Motivation: Very preterm children have a risk of impaired cognitive function mediated by several risk factors. The association between structural alteration and high-order cognitive function remains unclear. Goal(s): Very preterm children at 6 years old showed significant differences in cortical thickness associated with cognitive abilities compared with term infants. Approach: Cortical thickness was assessed in 41 very preterm and 24 full-term children at 6 years of age. The cortical thickness analysis of structural T1-weighted images was performed using Advanced Normalization Tools. Results: Perceptual reasoning indices, high-order cognitive function, were found to be broadly correlated with cortical thickness in both very preterm and term children Impact: This study explores the between brain structure changes and cognitive abilities in very preterm and full-term children, providing insights for neurodevelopmental diagnosis.