Intrinsic Functional Connectivity in Preterm Infants with Fetal Growth Restriction Evaluated at 12 Months Corrected
Nelly Padilla1, Peter Fransson2, Antonio Donaire3
1Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet, 171 76Stockholm , Sweden.
Insights
Fetal growth restriction (FGR) in preterm infants disrupts brain connectivity, impacting visual, auditory, and attention networks. This may explain neurodevelopmental issues and early autism features observed in these children.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Fetal growth restriction (FGR) is linked to adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes in preterm infants.
- The impact of FGR on resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) in the developing infant brain remains largely unexplored.
- Understanding these effects is crucial for identifying early biomarkers and potential interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of FGR on intrinsic brain functional connectivity in preterm infants at 12 months corrected age.
- To compare rsFC patterns between preterm infants with FGR, appropriate-for-gestational-age preterm infants, and term-born infants.
- To explore the relationship between altered connectivity and early autistic traits.
Main Methods:
- Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) was used to assess brain connectivity in 20 FGR preterm infants, 20 appropriate-for-gestational-age preterm infants, and 20 term infants.
- Group independent component analysis (ICA) and seed-based correlation analysis (SCA) were employed to analyze rsFC.
- Infants were screened for autistic traits at 26 months.
Main Results:
- Group ICA revealed distinct patterns of altered connectivity in FGR infants, including increased connectivity in the visual network and decreased connectivity in auditory/language and dorsal attention networks.
- SCA did not reveal significant group differences.
- FGR infants showed a higher frequency of early autism features, associated with decreased connectivity in the salience network compared to term infants.
Conclusions:
- Fetal growth restriction is an independent risk factor for disrupted intrinsic functional connectivity in preterm infants at 1-year old.
- Altered connectivity patterns in FGR may underlie observed neurodevelopmental abnormalities and increased risk for autistic traits.
- These findings highlight the long-term neurological impact of FGR on brain development.
Abstract:
Fetal growth restriction (FGR) affects brain development in preterm infants, but little is known about its effects on resting-state functional connectivity. We compared 20 preterm infants, born at <34 weeks of gestation with abnormal antenatal Doppler measurements and birth weights <10th percentile, with 20 appropriate for gestational age preterm infants of similar gestational age and 20 term infants. They were scanned without sedation at 12 months of age and screened for autistic traits at 26 months. Resting functional connectivity was assessed using group independent component analysis and seed-based correlation analysis. The groups showed 10 common resting-state networks involving cortical, subcortical regions, and the cerebellum. Only infants with FGR showed patterns of increased connectivity in the visual network and decreased connectivity in the auditory/language and dorsal attention networks. No significant differences between groups were found using seed-based correlation analysis. FGR infants displayed a higher frequency of early autism features, related to decreased connectivity involving the salience network, than term infants. These data suggest that FGR is an independent risk factor for disrupted intrinsic functional connectivity in preterm infants when they are 1-year old and provide more clues about the neurodevelopmental abnormalities reported in this population.
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