Early Nutrition is Associated With Global Motion Perception and V5 Function in 7-Year-Old Children Born Very Preterm

The dorsal stream vulnerability hypothesis suggests that preterm birth may preferentially impair development of the dorsal visual pathway. We explored the effects of early nutrition on dorsal stream development in a well-characterized cohort of 7-year-old children born very preterm. The children had been admitted to a tertiary hospital neonatal intensive care unit either before (OldPro group) or after (NewPro group) a parenteral nutrition protocol change that was intended to increase protein intake and reduce fluid volume intake. We assessed dorsal stream function using the blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) response in V1 and V5 to coherent and incoherent random dot kinematograms (RDKs), quantified using functional magnetic resonance imaging. V1 and V5 regions of interest could be localized in 24 children (OldPro n = 11, NewPro n = 13). Motion coherence thresholds, a psychophysical measure of global motion perception, were also available for 22 of these children (OldPro n = 9, NewPro n = 13). The NewPro group demonstrated a higher V5 BOLD response to RDK stimuli (OldPro: mean = 0.5%, SD = 0.2%; NewPro: mean = 1.0%, SD = 0.6%) and exhibited lower (better) motion coherence thresholds (OldPro: median = 74.0%, IQR: 59.5%-81.2%; NewPro: median = 36.8%, IQR: 27.5%-44.5%), compared to the OldPro group. The V1 BOLD response did not differ between the groups. There was a significant association between V5 Delta BOLD (coherent minus incoherent stimulus BOLD response) and motion coherence threshold. Together, these findings suggest that early nutrition may influence dorsal stream development in children born very preterm.