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Extremely Preterm-Born Infants Demonstrate Different Facial Recognition Processes at 6-10 Months of Corrected Age
Jakob Frie1, Nelly Padilla1, Ulrika Ådén1
1Neonatal Research Unit, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institute, Karolinska University Hospital, Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
Insights
Extremely preterm infants show altered cortical responses to familiar faces compared to term-born infants. This difference in early face recognition may relate to brain structure development in preterm infants.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Infants born extremely preterm (<28 weeks) face developmental challenges.
- Early life experiences shape infant brain development and cognitive functions.
- Facial recognition is a critical developmental milestone.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare cortical hemodynamic responses to facial stimuli between extremely preterm and term-born infants.
- To investigate differences in face recognition processing in preterm infants.
- To correlate hemodynamic responses with regional cortical volumes in preterm infants.
Main Methods:
- Compared 27 extremely preterm infants with 26 term-born infants (6-10 months corrected age).
- Measured regional cerebral oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin using near-infrared spectroscopy during exposure to mother's and unknown faces.
- Performed structural MRI in preterm infants to assess cortical volumes.
Main Results:
- Preterm infants exhibited significantly reduced hemodynamic responses in right frontotemporal areas to their mother's face compared to term-born infants.
- A negative correlation was found between hemodynamic response magnitude and regional gray matter volume in specific brain regions (left fusiform gyrus, amygdala) in preterm infants.
- These findings indicate distinct patterns of cortical activity related to face recognition.
Conclusions:
- At 6-10 months corrected age, preterm infants display an atypical pattern in the maturation of cortical face recognition compared to term-born infants.
- Altered hemodynamic responses in preterm infants suggest differences in early face processing pathways.
- The study highlights potential neurodevelopmental differences in facial recognition maturation following extreme preterm birth.
Objectives:
To compare cortical hemodynamic responses to known and unknown facial stimuli between infants born extremely preterm and term-born infants, and to correlate the responses of the extremely preterm-born infants to regional cortical volumes at term-equivalent age.
Study Design:
We compared 27 infants born extremely preterm (<28 gestational weeks) with 26 term-born infants. Corrected age and chronological age at testing were between 6 and 10 months, respectively. Both groups were exposed to a gray background, their mother's face, and an unknown face. Cerebral regional concentrations of oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin were measured with near-infrared spectroscopy. In the preterm group, we also performed structural brain magnetic resonance imaging and correlated regional cortical volumes to hemodynamic responses.
Results:
The preterm-born infants demonstrated different cortical face recognition processes than the term-born infants. They had a significantly smaller hemodynamic response in the right frontotemporal areas while watching their mother's face (0.13 μmol/L vs 0.63 μmol/L; P < .001). We also found a negative correlation between the magnitude of the oxygenated hemoglobin increase in the right frontotemporal cortex and regional gray matter volume in the left fusiform gyrus and amygdala (voxels, 25; r = 0.86; P < .005).
Conclusion:
At 6-10 months corrected age, the preterm-born infants demonstrated a different pattern in the maturation of their cortical face recognition process compared with term-born infants.
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