Visual–motor integration and fine motor skills at 6½ years of age and associations with neonatal brain volumes in children born extremely preterm in Sweden: a population-based cohort study

OBJECTIVES: This exploratory study aimed to investigate associations between neonatal brain volumes and visual–motor integration (VMI) and fine motor skills in children born extremely preterm (EPT) when they reached 6½ years of age. SETTING: Prospective population-based cohort study in Stockholm, Sweden, during 3 years. PARTICIPANTS: All children born before gestational age, 27 weeks, during 2004–2007 in Stockholm, without major morbidities and impairments, and who underwent MRI at term-equivalent age. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Brain volumes were calculated using morphometric analyses in regions known to be involved in VMI and fine motor functions. VMI was assessed with The Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual–Motor Integration—sixth edition and fine motor skills were assessed with the manual dexterity subtest from the Movement Assessment Battery for Children—second edition, at 6½ years. Associations between the brain volumes and VMI and fine motor skills were evaluated using partial correlation, adjusted for total cerebral parenchyma and sex. RESULTS: Out of 107 children born at gestational age <27 weeks, 83 were assessed at 6½ years and 66/83 were without major brain lesions or cerebral palsy and included in the analyses. A representative subsample underwent morphometric analyses: automatic segmentation (n=34) and atlas-based segmentation (n=26). The precentral gyrus was associated with both VMI (r=0.54, P=0.007) and fine motor skills (r=0.54, P=0.01). Associations were also seen between fine motor skills and the volume of the cerebellum (r=0.42, P=0.02), brainstem (r=0.47, P=0.008) and grey matter (r=−0.38, P=0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Neonatal brain volumes in areas known to be involved in VMI and fine motor skills were associated with scores for these two functions when children born EPT without major brain lesions or cerebral palsy were evaluated at 6½ years of age. Establishing clear associations between early brain volume alterations and later VMI and/or fine motor skills could make early interventions possible.