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Emerging atypical connectivity networks for processing angry and fearful faces in very preterm born children

Sarah I Mossad1,2,3, Christine Muscat3, Elizabeth W Pang2,4

  • 1Department of Diagnostic Imaging, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Human Brain Mapping
|June 14, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Very preterm born (VPT) children show altered emotional processing. VPT children rated angry faces more positively and had reduced brain connectivity for angry and fearful faces.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Pediatrics

Background:

  • Very preterm (VPT) birth affects 10% of premature births globally.
  • Increased survival rates of VPT infants highlight the need to study nonmedical morbidities.
  • Social-cognitive development, including emotion processing, is crucial for VPT children's long-term outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate differences in emotional face processing networks between VPT and full-term (FT) born children.
  • To examine brain connectivity patterns related to processing different emotional expressions in VPT and FT children.
  • To identify potential targets for interventions to support social-cognitive development in VPT populations.

Main Methods:

  • Magnetoencephalography (MEG) was used to assess brain activity in VPT and FT children at 6 and 8 years of age.
  • An implicit emotion face-processing task involved presenting happy, fearful, and angry faces.
  • Children responded to a visual cue while implicitly processing facial emotions, followed by a valence rating.

Main Results:

  • VPT children rated angry faces more positively compared to their FT peers.
  • At 8 years, VPT children exhibited reduced neural connectivity for angry and fearful faces.
  • Affected brain networks included the amygdala, superior temporal sulci, and anterior cingulate gyrus.

Conclusions:

  • VPT children demonstrate atypical emotional face processing and altered brain connectivity.
  • Interventions should address both emotion recognition and higher cognitive functions for emotional regulation in VPT children.
  • Early identification and targeted support are essential for improving social-cognitive outcomes in very preterm populations.

Keywords:
emotion face processingfunctional connectivitymagnetoencephalographypreterm birth

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