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Structural and functional connectivity of the brain in premature infants with non-hemorrhagic punctate white matter
Maria I Argyropoulou1, Persefoni Margariti2, Vasileios Xydis2
1University Campus of Ioannina, 1186, Ioannina, 45500, Greece. margyrop@uoi.gr.
Background:
Abnormal diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) metrics have been reported both near and distant from non-hemorrhagic punctate white matter lesions, suggesting abnormal brain connectivity.
Objective:
To evaluate the effect of non-hemorrhagic punctate white matter lesions on both structural and functional brain connectivity in preterm infants.
Materials And Methods:
DTI and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data acquired around term-equivalent age were analyzed using graph theory in nine preterm infants with non-hemorrhagic punctate white matter lesions (gestational age: mean±SD, 31.5 weeks±2.5 weeks) and nine gestational age-matched controls (mean, 31.4 weeks±2.5 weeks).
Results:
Both groups exhibited modularity, small-world topology, and rich-club organization. Compared with controls, infants with non-hemorrhagic punctate white matter lesions showed increased diffusion efficiency (0.0098±0.0003 vs. 0.0093±0.0003, P=0.03) in functional connectivity. In structural connectivity, the non-hemorrhagic punctate white matter lesions group demonstrated (a) increased betweenness centrality in the opercular part of the right inferior frontal gyrus (227.3±93.9 vs. 164.9±3.2, P<0.01); (b) increased characteristic path length in the left superior parietal lobe (48.7±3.1 vs. 46.9±3.1, P<0.01), left inferior parietal lobe (53.0±3.3 vs. 50.8±3.5, P<0.01), and right angular gyrus (61.1±4.3 vs. 55.8±4.3, P<0.01); and (c) increased participation coefficient in the inferior temporal gyrus (0.14±0.20 vs. 0.03±0.09, P<0.01).
Conclusions:
In preterm infants, non-hemorrhagic punctate white matter lesions appear to disrupt modularity in functional networks and structural connectivity in the dorsal visual stream, with compensatory changes in the ventral stream. They are also associated with increased structural connectivity in regions linked to risk aversion.
