Maternal Prenatal Stress Is Associated With Altered Uncinate Fasciculus Microstructure in Premature Neonates
Alexandra Lautarescu1, Diliana Pecheva2, Chiara Nosarti2
1Department of Perinatal Imaging and Health, Centre for Developing Brain, School of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences, King's College London, London, United Kingdom; Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
Insights
Maternal prenatal stress exposure is linked to changes in white matter microstructure in preterm infants. Specifically, higher stress correlates with altered development in the uncinate fasciculus, a key brain pathway.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Maternal prenatal stress exposure (PNSE) is a known risk factor for adverse psychiatric and behavioral outcomes in offspring.
- The biological mechanisms linking PNSE to offspring outcomes are not fully understood but may involve alterations in limbic system white matter tracts, such as the uncinate fasciculus.
- Preterm birth itself is associated with impaired white matter development and poorer developmental outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between maternal prenatal stress exposure and white matter microstructure in the uncinate fasciculus of preterm infants.
- To determine if maternal trait anxiety and stressful life events during pregnancy are related to alterations in neonatal brain white matter.
Main Methods:
- 251 preterm infants underwent brain MRI with diffusion-weighted imaging around term-equivalent age.
- White matter microstructure was assessed in the uncinate fasciculus and the inferior longitudinal fasciculus (a control tract).
- Multiple regression analyses examined the relationship between maternal stress measures and white matter microstructure indices, controlling for relevant covariates.
Main Results:
- Higher maternal stressful life events scores were significantly associated with increased axial diffusivity, radial diffusivity, and mean diffusivity in the left uncinate fasciculus.
- Higher stressful life events scores were also linked to increased axial diffusivity in the right uncinate fasciculus.
- No significant associations were found with the control tract, the inferior longitudinal fasciculus.
Conclusions:
- Prenatal stress exposure is associated with altered white matter microstructure in specific frontolimbic pathways of preterm neonates.
- These alterations in the uncinate fasciculus are detectable as early as term-equivalent age.
- Findings suggest a potential neurobiological pathway through which prenatal stress impacts offspring development.
Background:
Maternal prenatal stress exposure (PNSE) increases risk for adverse psychiatric and behavioral outcomes in offspring. The biological basis for this elevated risk is poorly understood but may involve alterations to the neurodevelopmental trajectory of white matter tracts within the limbic system, particularly the uncinate fasciculus. Additionally, preterm birth is associated with both impaired white matter development and adverse developmental outcomes. In this study we hypothesized that higher maternal PNSE was associated with altered uncinate fasciculus microstructure in offspring.
Methods:
In this study, 251 preterm infants (132 male, 119 female) (median gestational age = 30.29 weeks [range, 23.57-32.86 weeks]) underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging including diffusion-weighted imaging around term-equivalent age (median = 42.43 weeks [range, 37.86-45.71 weeks]). Measures of white matter microstructure were calculated for the uncinate fasciculus and the inferior longitudinal fasciculus, a control tract that we hypothesized was not associated with maternal PNSE. Multiple regressions were used to investigate the relationship among maternal trait anxiety scores, stressful life events, and white matter microstructure indices in the neonatal brain.
Results:
Adjusting for gestational age at birth, postmenstrual age at scan, maternal age, socioeconomic status, sex, and number of days on parenteral nutrition, higher stressful life events scores were associated with higher axial diffusivity (β = .177, q = .007), radial diffusivity (β = .133, q = .026), and mean diffusivity (β = .149, q = .012) in the left uncinate fasciculus, and higher axial diffusivity (β = .142, q = .026) in the right uncinate fasciculus.
Conclusions:
These findings suggest that PNSE is associated with altered development of specific frontolimbic pathways in preterm neonates as early as term-equivalent age.
