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A threatened preterm labour (TPL) represents an adverse prenatal event with potential long-term consequences on the offspring's neurodevelopment, regardless of prematurity condition. This study aimed to assess TPL's impact on children's psychomotor and socioemotional development at 2 years of age. A cohort of mother-infants was recruited at the time of TPL diagnoses and followed up until 30 months of children's corrected age. Participants were classified into three groups regarding gestational age at delivery: Full-term TPL (n = 35), Late Preterm TPL (n = 67), and Very Preterm TPL (n = 41). A Control group (n = 62) of mothers without TPL and their infants born at term completed the sample. Children's assessment was performed using the Ages & Stages Questionnaires for psychomotor development, the Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire-Very Short Form for temperament, and the Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Preschool Version for executive functions. Then, MANCOVAs were conducted to detect differences between groups. TPL children, regardless of delivery time, showed worse emotional regulation (ps < .03) and more inhibition problems (ps < .02) than control ones. In addition, Very preterm TPL children exhibited lower psychomotor development (ps ≤ .040), more difficulties in working memory (ps ≤ .002), and planification/organization (ps ≤ .003) domains. TPL per se may represent a risk factor for children's neurodevelopmental disturbances, specifically in emotional regulation and inhibitory control competencies, even in the absence of prematurity., Competing Interests: Declarations. Conflict of interest: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Children born after threatened preterm labour (TPL), regardless of whether it ends in preterm birth, may represent an undescribed "ADHD cluster". The aim of this cohort study is to identify early temperament and psychomotor manifestations and risk factors of TPL children who present ADHD symptoms. One hundred and seventeen mother-child pairs were followed from TPL diagnosis until the child's 6 years of life. TPL children were divided according to the prematurity status into three groups: full-term TPL (n = 26), late-preterm TPL (n = 53), and very-preterm TPL (n = 38). A non-TPL group (n = 50) served as control. Temperament and psychomotor development at age 6 months and ADHD symptoms at age 6 years were assessed. Perinatal and psychosocial factors were also recorded. All TPL groups showed higher severity of ADHD symptoms compared with non-TPL children (difference in means + 4.19 for the full-term group, + 3.64 for the late-preterm group, and  + 4.99 for the very-preterm group, all ps < 0.021). Concretely, very-preterm and late-preterm TPL children showed higher restless/impulsive behaviours, whereas full-term TPL children showed higher emotional lability behaviours. Higher surgency/extraversion and delayed fine motor skills at age 6 months predicted ADHD symptoms at 6 years in TPL children. Male sex, maternal state anxiety symptoms at TPL diagnosis, low parental education, and past maternal experience of traumatic events predicted higher ADHD symptoms in TPL children. Therefore, TPL children may have a higher risk for developing ADHD symptoms, presenting a phenotype that depends on the prematurity status. Moreover, the specific combination of early manifestations and risk factors suggests that TPL children may conform an undescribed group at-risk of ADHD symptoms., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Infants born after a threatened preterm labour (TPL infants) are at high risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Studying this population may provide insight on the pathophysiological underpinnings of this condition. This study aimed to (i) ascertain the presence and autistic symptom load in TPL infants aged age 30 months relative to non-TPL infants, regardless of preterm birth; (ii) explore the association between early (at 6 months) psychomotor development and temperament features with the autistic symptom load of TPL infants at age 30 months and (iii) examine the association among perinatal risk factors for ASD development with the autistic symptom load of TPL infants at age 30 months. A group of 111 mother-infant pairs recruited at TPL diagnosis and a group of 47 healthy mother-infant controls completed the follow-up. Irrespective of preterm birth, TPL infants showed higher autistic symptom load at age 30 months than non-TPL infants. TPL infants presented poorer communication and problem-solving skills, reduced smiling and laughter, and greater vocal reactivity at age 6 months, predicting higher autistic symptom load at age 30 months. Higher levels of anxiety symptoms in TPL mothers after a TPL diagnosis also predicted higher autistic symptom load for the infants at age 30 months. These results suggest that TPL infants may be an undescribed cluster, with features that differentiate them from other "at-risk" populations. These findings support the need for routine assessment of TPL infants and screening of anxiety symptoms in mothers., (© 2021. Springer-Verlag GmbH, DE part of Springer Nature.)

Individuals with Autism spectrum condition (ASC) present cognitive biases and a difficulty to integrate emotional responses in decision-making, which is necessary for adequate social functioning. Thus, understanding the underlying mechanisms of the altered decision-making in individuals with ASC may eventually have a positive impact on their social functioning. The Picture decision task was employed to observe the effect of new information (fragments of an incomplete picture), interpretative context (verbal cues), and the level of confidence on decision-making processes. Our study administered the task to 49 children with ASC and 37 children with Typical Development (TD). Children with TD showed a higher probability of success when an interpretative context was given. Conversely, children with ASC had an equal probability of success regardless of whether an interpretative context was provided or not. In addition, unlike children with TD, the level of confidence did not allow predicting the probability of successful decisions in children with ASC. Finally, children with ASC had more probability of jumping to conclusions, a decision made quickly with only one fragment of the picture while being completely sure of it. These results are discussed in light of current cognitive and emotional theories on ASC.