Temporal brain dynamics and fluid reasoning after extreme prematurity

Extremely preterm (EPT) birth (<28 weeks' gestation) disrupts brain maturation and increases later neurodevelopmental and mental health vulnerability. Temporal irreversibility quantifies directional brain dynamics, capturing the temporal organization of brain function. We examined whether EPT birth alters temporal irreversibility at 10 years and its association with cognition at 12 years. Resting-state functional MRI was acquired at 10 years of age in 33 children born EPT and 26 term-born controls. At 12 years of age, 29 children born EPT and 21 term-born controls underwent cognitive assessment using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fifth edition (WISC-V). Temporal irreversibility was quantified globally, across large-scale functional networks (visual, somatomotor, dorsal attention, salience, limbic, control, and default mode [DMN]), and at the node level using the INSIDEOUT framework. Children born EPT showed reduced temporal irreversibility globally and in higher-order association networks (control and DMN, P < 0.01; dorsal attention and salience, P < 0.05). Node-level analyses identified two association-network parcels that remained significant after false discovery rate correction (left precuneus and right dorsomedial frontal cortices). Within the EPT group, fluid reasoning was the only WISC-V domain significantly associated with temporal irreversibility, with higher global irreversibility associated with poorer fluid reasoning. These findings may inform future neurodevelopmental monitoring and intervention strategies after prematurity.