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Basal ganglia and thalamic tract connectivity in very preterm and full-term children; associations with 7-year
Deanne K Thompson1,2,3, Wai Yen Loh4,5, Alan Connelly5
1Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia. deanne.thompson@mcri.edu.au.
Insights
Very preterm birth is linked to reduced brain connectivity in children, impacting motor skills. This poorer corticostriatal and thalamocortical tract connectivity may explain motor impairments in these children.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Radiology
Background:
- Very preterm birth (<32 weeks' gestational age) is associated with cognitive, motor, and behavioral impairments.
- Altered connectivity in basal ganglia and thalamus may underlie these deficits.
Purpose of the Study:
- Compare corticostriatal and thalamocortical tract connectivity in very preterm versus term-born children at 7 years.
- Investigate associations between tract connectivity and neurodevelopmental outcomes at 7 years, and group differences.
Main Methods:
- Structural and diffusion MRI and neuropsychological assessments were performed at 7 years.
- Eighty-three very preterm and 19 term-born children participated.
- Corticostriatal and thalamocortical tracts were reconstructed; white matter connectivity was estimated using apparent fibre density.
Main Results:
- Very preterm children showed decreased connectivity in tracts linking the caudate to right motor areas (-10%) and thalamus to left motor areas (-5.7%) compared to controls.
- Reduced corticostriatal and thalamocortical tract connectivity correlated with adverse motor functioning in both groups.
- In term-born controls, decreased connectivity between the left caudate/putamen and lateral prefrontal cortex was linked to lower reading performance.
Conclusions:
- Corticostriatal and thalamocortical tracts are vulnerable to very preterm birth.
- Poorer connectivity in these specific white matter tracts may underlie motor impairments observed in very preterm children.
Background:
Altered basal ganglia and thalamic connectivity may be critical for cognitive, motor and behavioural impairments common to very preterm (<32 weeks' gestational age) children. This study aims to (1) compare corticostriatal and thalamocortical tract connectivity between very preterm and term-born children at 7 years of age; (2) explore tract connectivity associations with 7-year neurodevelopmental outcomes, and whether these relationships differed between groups.
Methods:
Eighty-three very preterm and 19 term-born (≥37 weeks' gestational age) children underwent structural and diffusion magnetic resonance imaging and had a neuropsychological assessment at 7 years. Corticostriatal and thalamocortical tracts were reconstructed and white matter connectivity was estimated with apparent fibre density.
Results:
Compared with term-born controls, very preterm children had decreased connectivity in tracts linking the caudate to right motor areas (-10%, p = 0.03) and the thalamus with left motor areas (-5.7%, p = 0.03). Reduced connectivity in corticostriatal and thalamocortical tracts was associated with adverse motor functioning in both groups (p = 0.06). Decreased connectivity of the left caudate and putamen with the lateral prefrontal cortex was associated with lower reading performance for controls (p = 0.06).
Conclusion:
Corticostriatal and thalamocortical tracts are vulnerable to very preterm birth. Poorer connectivity in these tracts may underlie the motor impairments observed in very preterm children.
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