Preterm birth and adolescent social functioning-alterations in emotion-processing brain areas.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between preterm birth, adolescent, and adult psychosocial outcomes, and alterations in gray matter volume.

Study Design: Individuals (n = 73) born at <33 weeks of gestation (very preterm) and 49 controls completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) at age 15 years to identify 'social immaturity' (SI) cases. Voxel-based morphometry was used to investigate gray matter volumes according to CBCL-SI 'caseness.