Complementary cortical gray and white matter developmental patterns in healthy, preterm neonates

Preterm birth is associated with brain injury and altered cognitive development. However, the consequences of extrauterine development are not clearly distinguished from perinatal brain injury. Therefore, we characterized cortical growth patterns from 30 to 46 postmenstrual weeks (PMW) in 27 preterm neonates (25-32 PMW at birth) without detectable brain injury on magnetic resonance imaging. We introduce surface-based morphometric descriptors that quantify radial (thickness) and tangential (area) change rates. Within a tensor-based morphometry framework, we use a temporally weighted formulation of regression to simultaneously model local age-related changes in cortical gray matter (GM) and underlying white matter (WM) mapped onto the cortical surface. The spatiotemporal pattern of GM and WM development corresponded to the expected gyrification time course of primary sulcal deepening and branching. In primary gyri, surface area and thickness rates were below average along sulcal pits and above average on gyral banks and crests in both GM and WM. Above average surface area rates in GM corresponded to emergence of secondary and tertiary folds. These findings map the development of neonatal cortical morphometry in the context of extrauterine brain development using a novel approach. Future studies may compare this developmental trajectory to preterm populations with brain injury. Hum Brain Mapp 38:4322-4336, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.