Exploring functional connectivity in clinical and data-driven groups of preterm and term adults

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• Adults born very preterm (<33 weeks' gestation) often experience lasting brain alterations and cognitive/socio-emotional issues.
• Behavioral variability complicates identifying biomarkers for specific outcomes in preterm-born individuals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate brain-behavior heterogeneity in adults based on birth status (very preterm vs. full-term) and data-driven behavioral phenotypes.
• To identify resting-state functional connectivity differences associated with very preterm birth and distinct behavioral profiles.

Main Methods:

• Network Based Statistic analysis of resting-state functional connectivity in adults.
• Subgrouping participants by clinical birth status and by data-driven behavioral clusters.
• Controlling for age, sex, socioeconomic status, and head motion.

Main Results:

• Very preterm adults exhibited poorer cognitive and socio-emotional scores with altered connectivity in default mode, visual, and ventral attention networks.
• Two behavioral subgroups emerged: 'At-Risk' (more difficulties, frontal opercular/insular hypo-connectivity) and 'Resilient' (favorable outcomes).
• No significant interaction between birth status and behavioral subgrouping on functional connectivity was found.

Conclusions:

• Functional connectivity alterations in very preterm adults may contribute to both risk and resilience for behavioral sequelae.
• Localized connectivity differences in the 'At-Risk' group may explain poorer adult outcomes, irrespective of preterm birth.
• Brain connectivity patterns offer insights into diverse adult outcomes, independent of gestational age at birth.