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Updated: Mar 1, 2026
Co-analysis of Brain Structure and Function using fMRI and Diffusion-weighted Imaging
Published on: November 8, 2012
Correlation between white matter microstructure and executive functions suggests early developmental influence on
Brigitte Vollmer1,2, Aiko Lundequist1, Gustaf Mårtensson1
1Neuropaediatrics, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet, Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
Insights
Preterm adolescents without visible brain injury show altered brain structure, particularly white matter tracts. These microstructural changes correlate with executive functions and general cognitive abilities, suggesting neural pathway disturbances impact cognition.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Radiology
Background:
- Children born preterm often exhibit executive function deficits.
- Preterm birth can impact brain development, even without overt injury.
- Understanding brain structure-cognition relationships in preterm individuals is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between executive functions, general cognitive abilities, and brain structure in preterm adolescents.
- To compare brain structure and cognitive functions between preterm and full-term adolescents.
- To identify if white matter microstructure or regional brain volumes are more closely linked to cognitive outcomes in preterm individuals.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal population-based study (Stockholm Neonatal Project) followed individuals from preterm birth (<36 weeks).
- Psychological assessments of general intelligence and executive functions were conducted at age 18.
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), including Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI), was used to assess brain structure (volumes and white matter microstructure) in adolescence.
Main Results:
- Preterm adolescents displayed significant differences in regional grey and white matter volumes and widespread alterations in white matter microstructure (Fractional Anisotropy - FA) compared to term-born peers.
- No significant correlations were found between cognitive measures and regional brain volumes.
- Significant correlations were observed between FA in projection and association fibers and measures of executive function and general cognitive abilities in preterm adolescents.
Conclusions:
- Preterm adolescents, even without visible brain injury, exhibit widespread alterations in brain tissue volumes and white matter microstructure.
- Disturbances in white matter tracts, rather than regional brain volume changes, are associated with impaired executive functions and general cognitive abilities.
- These findings highlight the importance of neural pathway integrity for cognitive development following preterm birth.
Main Objectives:
Executive functions are frequently a weakness in children born preterm. We examined associations of executive functions and general cognitive abilities with brain structure in preterm born adolescents who were born with appropriate weight for gestational age and who have no radiological signs of preterm brain injury on neuroimaging.
Methods:
The Stockholm Neonatal Project (SNP) is a longitudinal, population-based study of children born preterm (<36 weeks of gestation) with very low birth weight (<1501g) between 1988-1993. At age 18 years (mean 18 years, SD 2 weeks) 134 preterm born and 94 full term participants underwent psychological assessment (general intelligence, executive function measures). Of these, 71 preterm and 63 full term participants underwent Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) at mean 15.2 years (range 12-18 years), including 3D T1-weighted images for volumetric analyses and Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) for assessment of white matter microstructure. Group comparisons of regional grey and white matter volumes and fractional anisotropy (FA, as a measure of white matter microstructure) and, within each group, correlation analyses of cognitive measures with MRI metrics were carried out.
Results:
Significant differences in grey and white matter regional volumes and widespread differences in FA were seen between the two groups. No significant correlations were found between cognitive measures and brain volumes in any group after correction for multiple comparisons. However, there were significant correlations between FA in projection fibres and long association fibres, linking frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital lobes, and measures of executive function and general cognitive abilities in the preterm born adolescents, but not in the term born adolescents.
Overall Significance Of The Study:
In persons born preterm, in the absence of perinatal brain injury on visual inspection of MRI, widespread alterations in regional brain tissue volumes and microstructure are present in adolescence/young adulthood. Importantly, these alterations in WM tracts are correlated with measures of executive function and general cognitive abilities. Our findings suggest that disturbance of neural pathways, rather than changes in regional brain volumes, are involved in the impaired cognitive functions.
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