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Altered resting-state functional connectivity in emotion-processing brain regions in adults who were born very
C Papini1, T P White1, A Montagna2
1Department of Psychosis Studies,Institute of Psychiatry,Psychology and Neuroscience,King's College London,De Crespigny Park,London,UK.
Insights
Very preterm birth (VPT) is linked to altered amygdala connectivity, affecting emotion recognition. These brain connectivity changes may explain social and emotional difficulties in VPT adults.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Very preterm birth (VPT; <32 weeks gestation) is associated with social and emotional deficits.
- Neuroanatomical underpinnings of these impairments remain understudied.
- This study examines amygdala functional connectivity in adults born very preterm.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the functional integrity of the amygdala connectivity network in very preterm born adults.
- Relate amygdala network function to emotion recognition abilities.
- Identify neuroanatomical mechanisms linking VPT to emotion processing deficits.
Main Methods:
- Used resting-state functional connectivity (rs-fc) MRI in 36 VPT adults and 38 controls.
- Performed seed-based analysis on amygdala subregions.
- Assessed emotion recognition using dynamic facial stimuli (Emotion Recognition Task).
Main Results:
- VPT adults showed reduced rs-fc between left superficial amygdala and posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus.
- Elevated rs-fc was observed between left superficial amygdala and superior temporal sulcus in VPT group.
- VPT individuals had deficits recognizing anger at low intensities, associated with amygdala-posterior cingulate cortex connectivity in controls.
Conclusions:
- Alterations in amygdala connectivity with parietal and temporal cortices are implicated.
- These connectivity changes may underlie emotion processing deficits in VPT individuals.
- Findings highlight potential neurobiological mechanisms for social-emotional impairments post-VPT.
Background:
Very preterm birth (VPT; <32 weeks of gestation) has been associated with impairments in emotion regulation, social competence and communicative skills. However, the neuroanatomical mechanisms underlying such impairments have not been systematically studied. Here we investigated the functional integrity of the amygdala connectivity network in relation to the ability to recognize emotions from facial expressions in VPT adults.
Method:
Thirty-six VPT-born adults and 38 age-matched controls were scanned at rest in a 3-T MRI scanner. Resting-state functional connectivity (rs-fc) was assessed with SPM8. A seed-based analysis focusing on three amygdalar subregions (centro-medial/latero-basal/superficial) was performed. Participants' ability to recognize emotions was assessed using dynamic stimuli of human faces expressing six emotions at different intensities with the Emotion Recognition Task (ERT).
Results:
VPT individuals compared to controls showed reduced rs-fc between the superficial subregion of the left amygdala, and the right posterior cingulate cortex (p = 0.017) and the left precuneus (p = 0.002). The VPT group further showed elevated rs-fc between the left superficial amygdala and the superior temporal sulcus (p = 0.008). Performance on the ERT showed that the VPT group was less able than controls to recognize anger at low levels of intensity. Anger scores were significantly associated with rs-fc between the superficial amygdala and the posterior cingulate cortex in controls but not in VPT individuals.
Conclusions:
These findings suggest that alterations in rs-fc between the amygdala, parietal and temporal cortices could represent the mechanism linking VPT birth and deficits in emotion processing.
