Sustained attention is the “ability to maintain an efficient and stable attentional level for a long period of time” (Lejeune F, Gentaz E, 2015). It is important during development and in many daily tasks and academic achievement. Very preterm (VPT) children often experience difficulties in various cognitive domains, such as attention difficulties, that persist and affect their daily functioning, academic achievements, and social interactions (Aarnoudse-Moens et al., 2009). Attentional difficulties observed in VPT children and adolescents have been associated with alteration of the attentional network and attentional brain regions. However, specific alteration of sustained attention is not well characterised in VPT adolescents. As VPT individuals can face many challenges, there is a growing interest in interventions, such as Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs), which target the enhancement of executive functions and promote the well-being of individuals born preterm.
Our first aim is to evaluate the effect of premature birth on sustained attentional networks. Our second aim is to investigate long-term effects (i.e., 2 to 5 years later) of a MBI on sustained attentional networks in VPT adolescents. 14 VPT adolescents who followed a MBI (i.e., VPT Mind) 2 to 5 years age, 19 VPT adolescents who did not follow a MBI (i.e., VPT Non-Mind), and 29 full-term (FT) control adolescents underwent a brain MRI scan including anatomical images and functional sequences. They performed the gradual-onset continuous performance task (gradCPT), which is a test of sustained attention and inhibition during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). There are two sequences of the gradCPT task, one called Scene and the other one called Face task.
At behavioural level, all participants (i.e., VPT Mind, VPT Non-Mind, and FT control) performed the gradCPT tasks in a similar way. The Scene task was better performed than the Face task. During the Face task, VPT Non-Mind adolescents showed increased response in the left superior parietal lobule compared to FT controls adolescents. These findings suggest that VPT Non-Mind might rely on compensatory mechanisms to perform the task (Daamen et al., 2015; Nosarti et al., 2006; Peterson et al., 2002; Réveillon et al., 2020). Brain activation was associated with performance scores and neonatal risk factors. With these results, we could say that the level of prematurity and related neonatal complications can influence sustained attention processes. No significant difference in brain activation was found between VPT Mind and VPT Non-Mind adolescents. We concluded the long-term effect of a MBI were very limited 2 to 5 years later.
