Periventricular leukomalacia specifically affects cortical MEG response to biological motion.

OBJECTIVE

Periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) underlies most of the neurological morbidity including visual-perceptual deficits in survivors of premature birth. However, it is unknown whether and, if so, how PVL affects functional cortical activity.

METHODS

Here, we assessed changes in the magnetoencephalographic (MEG) response to visual displays depicting human locomotion in adolescents who were born premature with magnetic resonance imaging signs of PVL.

RESULTS

Dynamics of MEG activity parallel behavioral deficits. Early (140-170 milliseconds) brain activation over the right parietal cortex was weaker in patients compared with term-born controls.

INTERPRETATION: This is the first evidence for stimulus-specific modulation of cortical activity by periventricular lesions providing new insights into the functional pathology of PVL.