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White matter alterations and cognitive outcomes in children born very low birth weight

Julie Sato1, Marlee M Vandewouw2, Nicole Bando3

  • 1Diagnostic Imaging, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Neurosciences & Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Neuroimage. Clinical
|October 3, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Very low birth weight (VLBW) infants show altered white matter microstructure, impacting cognitive development. Early identification of these brain differences is crucial for predicting later cognitive outcomes in VLBW children.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Pediatrics
  • Medical Imaging

Background:

  • Very low birth weight (VLBW) infants face risks for impaired white matter maturation.
  • Cognitive difficulties in VLBW children emerge during preschool years, with underlying white matter changes poorly understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate white matter microstructure in five-year-old VLBW and full-term (FT) children.
  • To examine associations between white matter microstructure, cognitive outcomes, and birth weight in these groups.

Main Methods:

  • Acquired multi-shell diffusion and MR images from 41 VLBW and 26 FT children.
  • Estimated white matter indices including Fractional Anisotropy (FA), radial diffusivity (RD), neurite orientation dispersion index (ODI), and density index (NDI).
  • Employed general linear models for between-group and within-group association analyses.

Main Results:

  • VLBW children exhibited lower FA and NDI across widespread white matter regions compared to FT children.
  • Atypical ODI was observed in VLBW children.
  • In FT children, RD and NDI correlated with vocabulary and working memory; in VLBW children, FA, NDI, RD, and ODI related to processing speed. FA positively correlated with birth weight in both groups.

Conclusions:

  • Young VLBW children display white matter alterations, potentially due to sustained myelination disruptions.
  • These microstructural changes are linked to cognitive outcomes, aiding in identifying VLBW children at higher risk for later cognitive challenges.
Abstract

Keywords:
ChildrenCognitionDiffusion tensor imagingVery low birth weightWhite matter

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