Developmental Factors Associated with Math Performance in Children Born Very Preterm

For some children born very preterm (VP; <32 weeks’ gestation), math is difficult, and they perform lower than their full term born peers (FT; >37 weeks’ gestation). In this series of longitudinal studies, executive function (EF) and brain gray and white matter development were found to be important correlates of math ability for children born VP and FT, with better EF and greater brain development predicting higher math scores for all children. Vulnerability to math difficulties for children born VP may be due to vulnerability to low EF and altered brain development.