Cortical impairments in premature infants

[clinscientist]

What cortical areas could become impaired in premature infants suffering from fat malabsorbtion? And what would the mechanism look like?

Thanks in advance!

[Ringer]

AFAIK the symptoms would be the same malnutrition in general.

[iNow]

What cortical areas could become impaired in premature infants suffering from fat malabsorbtion? And what would the mechanism look like?

Thanks in advance!

This looks like a homework question. Can you first share what YOU think the answer is, and then maybe rely on this group to help you refine or correct those ideas?

[clinscientist]

This looks like a homework question. Can you first share what YOU think the answer is, and then maybe rely on this group to help you refine or correct those ideas?

 

Well, I believe this question has a spectrum of possible answers, and I do have ideas of what specific cognitive functions could be impaired by lipid metabolism disorder in premature infants, but the point was to initially see if I could get other interesting alternative explanations without guiding anyone into what I have come up with so far.

Then later of course it would be valuable to discuss my own standpoint on this issue

[iNow]

Well, issues with fat malabsorption would have an effect on all infants, and that would be true whether or not they are premature, and it would almost certainly effect the entire nervous system given that myelin sheathing itself is fat based... So problems there would impact conductivity of nervous signals, etc. IINM. I suspect also that the effect would likely be stronger in areas with more myelination given the stance I laid out above.