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

Elaine Healy1, Abraham Reichenberg, Kie Woo Nam

  • 1Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, King's Health Partners, King's College London, London, United Kingdom; Lucena Clinic Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, Rathgar, Dublin, Ireland.

The Journal of Pediatrics
|September 28, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Very preterm birth is linked to adolescent social immaturity and altered brain structure. These social challenges in adolescence may increase the risk for psychiatric disorders later in life.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Psychiatry

Background:

  • Preterm birth can impact neurodevelopment and long-term psychosocial outcomes.
  • Understanding the brain basis of social difficulties in preterm individuals is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the association between very preterm birth, adolescent psychosocial issues, and gray matter volume.
  • To investigate if brain alterations correlate with social immaturity and adult psychiatric vulnerability.

Main Methods:

  • Seventy-three very preterm individuals and 49 controls underwent behavioral assessments at age 15 (Child Behavior Checklist) and 19 (Clinical Interview Schedule-Revised).
  • Voxel-based morphometry was employed to analyze gray matter volumes in relation to social immaturity 'caseness'.

Main Results:

  • Very preterm individuals were nearly four times more likely to exhibit social immaturity compared to controls.
  • Socially immature ex-preterm individuals showed increased gray matter volume in the fusiform gyrus, linked to the orbitofrontal cortex.
  • Ex-preterm individuals reported slightly higher psychiatric symptom scores in adulthood.

Conclusions:

  • Adolescents born very preterm experience more socialization problems, associated with brain network alterations.
  • Atypical social development in ex-preterm individuals suggests a heightened vulnerability to psychiatric disorders.
Abstract

Keywords:
ASDAutism spectrum disorderCBCLCIS-RChild Behavior ChecklistClinical Interview Schedule-RevisedFWEFamily wise errorMRIMagnetic resonance imagingSESSISocial economic statusSocial immaturityVPTVery preterm

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