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Association between left precuneus functional connectivity and early neurodevelopment in preterm infants

Ye Feng1, Xu Li2, Shaohua Bi1

  • 1Department of Neonatology, Anhui Provincial Children's Hospital, Hefei 230051, China.

Brain & Development
|February 11, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Preterm infants show altered brain connectivity in the left precuneus, impacting neurobehavioral development. These functional impairments may be linked to long-term deficits, informing early assessment strategies.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Neuroscience
  • Pediatric Neurology

Background:

  • Preterm birth is linked to brain network alterations, potentially causing motor and neurocognitive deficits.
  • The neural mechanisms behind these deficits in preterm infants are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate functional brain activity changes in preterm infants.
  • To correlate these changes with early neurobehavioral development.

Main Methods:

  • Used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) on 15 preterm and 15 full-term infants.
  • Applied amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF), regional homogeneity (ReHo), and seed-based functional connectivity (FC) analyses.
  • Correlated Neonatal Behavioral Neurological Assessment (NBNA) scores with FC in preterm infants.

Main Results:

  • Preterm infants had higher ALFF and ReHo in the left precuneus compared to full-term infants.
  • Reduced FC was observed between the left precuneus and the left Rolandic operculum, right putamen, and left hippocampus in preterm infants.
  • FC between the left precuneus and left Rolandic operculum/right putamen positively correlated with NBNA scores.

Conclusions:

  • Preterm infants may exhibit early functional connectivity impairments in the left precuneus.
  • These impairments could be a neural correlate of neurobehavioral abnormalities.
  • Findings offer insights into preterm birth-related neurodevelopmental mechanisms and inform early clinical assessment.
Abstract

Keywords:
Amplitude of low-frequency fluctuationsFunctional connectivityNeonatal behavioral neurological assessmentPreterm infantsRegional homogeneityResting-state fMRI

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