Comparison of cerebral volume in children aged 18-22 and 36-47 months born preterm and term.

Studies investigating differences in regional brain volumes in children born preterm and term during early childhood are limited. Neuroimaging could help understand patterns of deficit in children born preterm and target areas of development associated with these regions. The goal of this study was to identify differences in regional brain volume at 2 different ages using magnetic resonance imaging in preterm and term children. Magnetic resonance imaging and developmental testing occurred in children 18 to 22 months old (16 preterm and 10 term children) and 36 to 47 month old (12 preterm and 10 term children). There were significant differences between the 4 groups in the parietal region, cerebral white matter, third ventricle, and lateral ventricle. Correlations between regional cerebral volume and developmental testing were explored for the third and lateral ventricles. Our findings indicate that in young children differences in regional cerebral volume are due to both maturation and prematurity.