Very preterm goal setting deficits and associated neural substrates at 13 years of age

This thesis highlights significant goal setting difficulties (i.e., planning, organisation, strategic reasoning) experienced by very preterm children during late childhood, which are likely to have academic, social and vocational functional consequences. Goal setting deficits were found to be associated with early risk factors, including neonatal brain abnormalities and brain volumes, highlighting the potential utility of neonatal MRI for identifying very preterm children at risk for later executive dysfunction. This thesis also investigated functional connectivity networks underlying prematurity as a brain network disorder, contributing to the previously limited understanding of how neural connectivity underlies very preterm goal setting deficits during late childhood.