In summary, the attention dysfunction typically observed in preterm
populations may be explained, at least in part, by alterations in the
white matter microstructure of the cingulum bundle, superior longitudinal
fasciculus, reticular activating system and corpus callosum, and
examination of these tracts in VPT children is needed. Thus, we have
studied the relationship between the microstructural organization of
these tracts and four aspects of attention functioning in VPT 7 yearolds.
We hypothesized that VPT children would display less mature
microstructural organization of attention tracts comparedwith controls,
and among VPT children, microstructural organization of these tracts
would relate to attention performance.