Evaluación neuropsicológica de la memoria en prematuros extremos

Zusammenfassung

Aim: To examine memory profile in extremely preterm (gestational age 28-30 weeks) children at 9 to 10 years of age. Method: Participants: Nine extremely preterm (6 males, 3 females) and nine term children (4 males, 5 females) without differences in intelligence and severe disabilities. Materials: the protocol of neuropsychological assessment of verbal and visual memory consisted of tests for the evaluation of memory span, working memory and learning and recall tasks. Moreover was evaluated the intelligence, processing speed and attention to their modulating effect on performance in memory tasks. The results were analyzed with SPSS through the General Linear Model. Results: The performance of preterm infants differs of control group in direct verbal span and some variables measured in tasks of verbal and visual learning and recall. In addition, they differ in attention and processing speed. Conclusions: Being born prematurely is associated with under performed in direct verbal span, not so for verbal and visual working memory. In verbal and visual learning and recall preterm show learning curve, but the gain by the repetition of material is lower than their peers and preterm group was more sensitive for interference. No differ with recognition tasks. These results are indicative that preterm infants have ineffective strategies of storage and retrieval, and they performance is modulated by attentional and processing speed variables.