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Sex-specific alterations in preterm brain

Amanda Benavides1, Andrew Metzger2, Alexander Tereshchenko1

  • 1Department of Psychiatry, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA.

Pediatric Research
|October 4, 2018
PubMed

Insights

Brain development in premature infants shows significant sex differences by 12 months of age. Gestational age also impacts brain structure, with sex-specific effects on cortical gray matter development.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroimaging
  • Developmental Neuroscience
  • Pediatric Radiology

Background:

  • Most premature infant brain imaging studies focus on neonates, missing the critical developmental period from birth to one year.
  • This study addresses the gap by examining brain development in premature infants at 12 months corrected age.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To obtain quantitative brain measures using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in premature infants at 12 months of age.
  • To investigate the effects of gestational age and sex on brain development during this crucial period.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized an age-specific atlas to generate quantitative brain measures from MRI scans.
  • Included a diverse cohort ranging from premature to full-term infants.
  • Employed regression modeling to analyze the influence of gestational age and sex on brain metrics.

Main Results:

  • Identified significant sex differences in brain structure: males had larger intracranial volume and cerebral white matter, while females had greater proportional cerebral cortical gray matter.
  • Gestational age positively correlated with cerebral volume and cerebrospinal fluid.
  • Gestational age influenced cortical gray matter volume in a sex-specific manner, notably affecting males more than females.

Conclusions:

  • Early-life sex differences in brain structure are substantial and evident by 12 months corrected age.
  • Gestational age exerts sex-specific effects on brain development, underscoring the need to consider sex in neurodevelopmental outcome assessments for premature infants.
Abstract

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