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Abstract #3413

Regional white matter anisotropy and general intelligence in preterm born children: a voxelwise analysis

Khong P, Qiu D, Lam B, Leung C, Poon G, Yung A
The University of Hong Kong

We evaluated 22 (12 male, age range 9.2 yrs- 11.5 yrs, all right handed) very low birth weight preterm born children for regions of significant correlation between white matter fractional anisotropy and Wechsler full-scale IQ scores using voxelwise analysis in SPM2 adjusting for the effects of age and gender (FDR corrected p<0.05, cluster size > 30 contiguous voxels). Regions of statistically significant positive correlations were found in bilaterally symmetrical regions in the occipito-temporal, temporo-parietal and frontal lobes. These areas overlap with those found in the normal pediatric population, suggesting that fiber organization/integrity in specific white matter regions underlie general intelligence.