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Scanning Dos and Don'ts: Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Awake Children Aged 3 to 5 Years to Assess Brain Structure and Function
Published on: March 10, 2026
Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrates long-term changes in brain structure in children born preterm and exposed
Tamera Hatfield1, Deborah A Wing, Claudia Buss
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Women and Children's Health and Well-Being Project, University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, Irvine, CA 92868, USA. thatfiel@uci.edu
Insights
Chorioamnionitis exposure in preterm children is linked to long-term brain structure differences, affecting cortical thickness and subcortical regions like the hippocampus. These findings highlight the impact of prenatal infections on neurodevelopment.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Chorioamnionitis is a known risk factor for adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes in preterm infants.
- Long-term effects of chorioamnionitis on brain structure in school-aged children are not well-characterized.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate differences in brain structure at 6-10 years of age in preterm children exposed to chorioamnionitis.
- To utilize magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to assess structural brain changes.
Main Methods:
- Structural MRI scans were acquired from 11 preterm children with chorioamnionitis and 16 preterm children without chorioamnionitis.
- Cortical surface reconstruction and volumetric segmentation were performed using FreeSurfer software.
- Multivariate analysis was employed to examine subcortical structures.
Main Results:
- Widespread regional differences in cortical thickness were observed between the groups.
- Preterm children exposed to chorioamnionitis showed decreased cortical thickness in frontal and temporal lobes.
- Increased cortical thickness was noted in limbic, parietal, and occipital lobes, along with differences in the hippocampus and lateral ventricle.
Conclusions:
- Chorioamnionitis is associated with long-term, widespread regional effects on brain development in prematurely born children.
- MRI can detect these structural brain alterations in school-aged children.
- The study's findings are limited by a small sample size, warranting further investigation.
Objective:
We sought to determine if children born preterm and exposed to chorioamnionitis have differences in brain structure measured at 6-10 years of age using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Study Design:
Structural MRI was performed with 11 preterm children (8.5 ± 1.7 years) with chorioamnionitis and 16 preterm children (8.7 ± 1.4 years) without chorioamnionitis. Cortical surface reconstruction and volumetric segmentation were performed with FreeSurfer image analysis software. Subcortical structures were analyzed using multivariate analysis.
Results:
Widespread regional differences in cortical thickness were observed. With chorioamnionitis, the frontal and temporal lobes were primarily affected by decreased cortical thickness, and the limbic, parietal, and occipital lobes were primarily affected by increased cortical thickness when compared to the comparison group. Subcortical differences were observed in the hippocampus and lateral ventricle.
Conclusion:
Using MRI, chorioamnionitis is associated with longterm widespread regional effects on brain development in children born prematurely. Our study is limited by its small sample size.
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