Are early grammatical and phonological working memory abilities affected by preterm birth?

UNLABELLED: There have been few investigations of the effects of very immature preterm birth on specific linguistic competencies and phonological working memory at preschool age. Study 1 aimed to investigate early grammatical abilities in very immature healthy preterms, taking into account their cognitive development and biological and social factors. The linguistic and cognitive differences found between preterms and fullterms led to investigate in Study 2 the role of phonological working memory on preterms' grammatical development. Very immature preterm birth resulted to affect grammatical, cognitive and phonological working memory abilities until 3.5 years leading to persisting difficulties in comparison with fullterms, albeit not severe deficits. Tight relations between phonological working memory and grammar were found both in preterms and fullterms, that highlights the reciprocal support of these abilities in development. A partial compensatory effect by the maternal level of education on preterms' grammatical and cognitive abilities was also found. LEARNING OUTCOMES: The reader will become familiar with the relations between grammatical and phonological working memory abilities in typical and preterm 3.5-year-old children.

Early relations between lexical and grammatical development in very immature Italian preterms.

This study aimed to investigate early lexical and grammatical development and their relations in a sample of very immature healthy preterms, in order to assess whether their linguistic development was typical, at risk or atypical. The effects of biological factors and parental level of education on preterms' linguistic development were also investigated. Seventy-three Italian preterms and 22 Italian fullterms (control sample) were assessed at 2;6 with an Italian test of repetition of sentences (TRF). Their mothers completed the Italian version of the MacArthur questionnaire (PVB). Our results showed that most of the preterm sample displayed a typical development, compared with the fullterms, with lexicon and grammar within the normal range and a normal relation between these competencies. However, preterms characterized by an extremely low birthweight (ELBW), a very low gestational age and male gender were at risk, with slight delays in the lexicon and grammar, but still retaining the normal relation between the two.

Ultrasound screening for congenital pyelectasis in term pregnancies.

The purpose of this study was to compare the role of antenatal ultrasound screening for congenital pyelectasis at term with postnatal screening. An ultrasonographic prospective study of 231 fetuses of low-risk pregnancies was performed, evaluating the renal pelvis at term (38 to 42 weeks gestation) and after birth (first and third months of life). Cut-off points used were 9 mm antenatally, and 10 and 12 mm, respectively postnatally, all in an anteroposterior view. A sensitivity of 20% and a specificity of 93.4% was obtained when comparing the antenatal versus the third-month scan, whereas when we compared the sonograms from the first versus the third month of life, we found a sensitivity of 60% and a specificity of 89.7%, with a positive predictive value of 14.7% in the first case and 25% in the second case. A p value < 0.001 was obtained when comparing the sensitivities; a p value of 0.2 was reported when comparing the specificities. Data on a comparative screening of the renal pelvis measured antenatally at term and postnatally do not exist. Although it is extremely feasible, the measurement of the fetal renal pelvis during the routine ultrasound scan at term of gestation seems of no benefit in terms of sensitivity and positive predictive values in identifying infants affected by congenital pyelectasis. Because of the low values of sensitivity obtained in our study, a screening program for the renal pelvis dilation both in fetuses and newborns cannot be recommended.