Brain Development, Intelligence, and Cognitive Outcome in Children Born Small for Gestational Age
de Bie, H.M.A., K.J. Oostrom, and H.A. Delemarre-van de Waal. "Brain Development, Intelligence and Cognitive Outcome in Children Born Small for Gestational Age."Hormone Research in Paediatrics 73.1 (2010): 6-14. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 6 Sept. 2011.
I chose the article “Brain Development, Intelligence, and Cognitive Outcome in Children Born Small for Gestational Age” because after reading chapter 7 in our textbook I was interested in the brain development in infants. I was mainly interested in what types of things other than those discussed in the book played a role in affecting normal infant brain development. The purpose of this study was to better understand the link between Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR) and children being born of Small Gestational Age (SGA) and how they relate to the child’s cognitive outcome, brain development, and intelligence. Most of the previous studies and information collected about the central nervous system and IUGR have been from animal studies. These studies look in depth at the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, and cerebellum. They found overall that in animals with IUGR have many different outcomes in abnormal fetal brain development. There are few human studies of children with SGA. The human studies found infants with SGA and IUGR had reduced brain weight, lower cell numbers, and reduced amount of myelin lipids. The reduced brain volume is mainly in the cerebral cortical gray matter. Both the human and animal studies proved the underdevelopment of the brain in those born with SGA. This study also looked at the cognitive and intelligence test of SGA born children. They had an SGA group and a control group AGA. They grouped them into two categories those born preterm and those born at term. They found the IQ of the SGA is significantly lower than AGA but it was not more than a standard deviation. The SGA did have worse scores on cognition than the AGA. These children born with SGA are at risk for many problems including school performance and the risk of learning disabilities. There are many factors that affect the outcome of a child born with SGA including their environment, socioeconomic status, and their parents’ intelligence. This study also looks at the influence of Growth Hormone (GH) and Growth Hormone Therapy on these individuals with SGA. In the human brain the production of GH is not clearly defined but its presence is known. Since its receptors are present it is likely GH can play a role in neural development. The conclusion of this study is that IUGR does play a role in abnormal or delayed brain development and SGA plays a role decreased level of intelligence and problems with cognitive tasks or functioning. The effects of GH and GH Therapy on SGA individuals are not solid. Overall I found this article to be interesting and productive in getting a better look into the infant brain development and the problems that arise.
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