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Neuropsychological analysis of the visuomotor problems in children born preterm at 32 weeks of gestation: a 5‐year prospective follow‐up
Author(s) -
Luoma Laila,
Herrgård Eila,
Martikainen Anneli
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
developmental medicine and child neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.658
H-Index - 143
eISSN - 1469-8749
pISSN - 0012-1622
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8749.1998.tb15352.x
Subject(s) - neuropsychology , psychology , perception , gestation , cognition , audiology , developmental psychology , visual perception , physical medicine and rehabilitation , pediatrics , medicine , psychiatry , pregnancy , neuroscience , biology , genetics
Forty‐six intellectually normal children born preterm (32 weeks of gestation) without major neurological disabilities and a control group of term children matched for age, sex, and parental educational and occupational status were assessed at the age of 5 years using neuropsychological tests emphasizing perceptual and visuomotor functions. The results show that in terms of cognitive functions these preterm children are a very heterogenous group, but many of them still have problems in visuospatial and sensorimotor functions. The preterm children achieved lower mean scores in tests where coordination and voluntary control of hands in combination with tactile, kinaesthetic, and visuospatial perception were needed. They had most difficulty with drawing directions of lines and in integrating two or more forms. They also had problems with 3‐dimensional constructions as well as visual perception of rotated shapes or slopes of lines.