Thalamocortical Connectivity Predicts Cognition in Children Born Preterm

Overview

Journal Cereb Cortex

Publisher Oxford University Press

Specialty Neurology

Date 2015 Jan 18

PMID 25596587

Citations 110

Authors

Gareth Ball

Libuse Pazderova

Andrew Chew

Nora Tusor

Nazakat Merchant

Tomoki Arichi

Joanna M Allsop

Frances M Cowan

A David Edwards

Serena J Counsell

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Thalamocortical connections are: essential for brain function, established early in development, and significantly impaired following preterm birth. Impaired cognitive abilities in preterm infants may be related to disruptions in thalamocortical connectivity. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis: thalamocortical connectivity in the preterm brain at term-equivalent is correlated with cognitive performance in early childhood. We examined 57 infants who were born <35 weeks gestational age (GA) and had no evidence of focal abnormality on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Infants underwent diffusion MRI at term and cognitive performance at 2 years was assessed using the Bayley III scales of Infant and Toddler development. Cognitive scores at 2 years were correlated with structural connectivity between the thalamus and extensive cortical regions at term. Mean thalamocortical connectivity across the whole cortex explained 11% of the variance in cognitive scores at 2 years. The inclusion of GA at birth and parental socioeconomic group in the model explained 30% of the variance in subsequent cognitive performance. Identifying impairments in thalamocortical connectivity as early as term equivalent can help identify those infants at risk of subsequent cognitive delay and may be useful to assess efficacy of potential treatments at an early age.

Citing Articles

Regional Changes in the Fetal Telencephalic Wall Diffusion Metrics Across Late Second and Third Trimesters.

Calixto C, Cortes-Albornoz M, Velasco-Annis C, Karimi D, Afacan O, Warfield S Hum Brain Mapp. 2025; 46(3):e70159.

PMID: 39950579 PMC: 11826438. DOI: 10.1002/hbm.70159.

Premature birth changes wiring constraints in neonatal structural brain networks.

Mousley A, Akarca D, Astle D Nat Commun. 2025; 16(1):490.

PMID: 39779695 PMC: 11711473. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-55178-x.

Developmental trajectories in high-risk NICU graduates during the first year of life.

McDonald N, Qian Q, Ferrario C, Senturk D, Iyer S, Jeste S Early Hum Dev. 2024; 201:106183.

PMID: 39705921 PMC: 11830516. DOI: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2024.106183.

Functional connectivity of the pediatric brain.

Argyropoulou M, Xydis V, Astrakas L Neuroradiology. 2024; 66(11):2071-2082.

PMID: 39230715 DOI: 10.1007/s00234-024-03453-5.

Alterations in aperiodic and periodic EEG activity in young children with Down syndrome.

Geiger M, Hurewitz S, Pawlowski K, Baumer N, Wilkinson C Neurobiol Dis. 2024; 200:106643.

PMID: 39173846 PMC: 11452906. DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2024.106643.

References

Hughes E, Bond J, Svrckova P, Makropoulos A, Ball G, Sharp D . Regional changes in thalamic shape and volume with increasing age. Neuroimage. 2012; 63(3):1134-42. PMC: 3507623. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.07.043. View

Alix J, Zammit C, Riddle A, Meshul C, Back S, Valentino M . Central axons preparing to myelinate are highly sensitive [corrected] to ischemic injury. Ann Neurol. 2013; 72(6):936-51. PMC: 3539243. DOI: 10.1002/ana.23690. View

Dean J, McClendon E, Hansen K, Azimi-Zonooz A, Chen K, Riddle A . Prenatal cerebral ischemia disrupts MRI-defined cortical microstructure through disturbances in neuronal arborization. Sci Transl Med. 2013; 5(168):168ra7. PMC: 3857141. DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3004669. View

Vinall J, Grunau R, Brant R, Chau V, Poskitt K, Synnes A . Slower postnatal growth is associated with delayed cerebral cortical maturation in preterm newborns. Sci Transl Med. 2013; 5(168):168ra8. DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3004666. View

Jefferies E . The neural basis of semantic cognition: converging evidence from neuropsychology, neuroimaging and TMS. Cortex. 2012; 49(3):611-25. DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2012.10.008. View

Pierson C, Folkerth R, Billiards S, Trachtenberg F, Drinkwater M, Volpe J . Gray matter injury associated with periventricular leukomalacia in the premature infant. Acta Neuropathol. 2007; 114(6):619-31. PMC: 2080348. DOI: 10.1007/s00401-007-0295-5. View

Iturria-Medina Y, Sotero R, Canales-Rodriguez E, Aleman-Gomez Y, Melie-Garcia L . Studying the human brain anatomical network via diffusion-weighted MRI and Graph Theory. Neuroimage. 2008; 40(3):1064-76. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2007.10.060. View

Smith S, Nichols T . Threshold-free cluster enhancement: addressing problems of smoothing, threshold dependence and localisation in cluster inference. Neuroimage. 2008; 44(1):83-98. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2008.03.061. View

Deary I . Why do intelligent people live longer?. Nature. 2008; 456(7219):175-6. DOI: 10.1038/456175a. View

10.

Rathbone R, Counsell S, Kapellou O, Dyet L, Kennea N, HAJNAL J . Perinatal cortical growth and childhood neurocognitive abilities. Neurology. 2011; 77(16):1510-7. PMC: 3198973. DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0b013e318233b215. View

11.

Smith G, Gutovich J, Smyser C, Pineda R, Newnham C, Tjoeng T . Neonatal intensive care unit stress is associated with brain development in preterm infants. Ann Neurol. 2011; 70(4):541-9. PMC: 4627473. DOI: 10.1002/ana.22545. View

12.

van den Heuvel M, Sporns O . Rich-club organization of the human connectome. J Neurosci. 2011; 31(44):15775-86. PMC: 6623027. DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3539-11.2011. View

13.

Deary I . Intelligence. Annu Rev Psychol. 2011; 63:453-82. DOI: 10.1146/annurev-psych-120710-100353. View

14.

Volpe J . Brain injury in premature infants: a complex amalgam of destructive and developmental disturbances. Lancet Neurol. 2008; 8(1):110-24. PMC: 2707149. DOI: 10.1016/S1474-4422(08)70294-1. View

15.

Haber S, Calzavara R . The cortico-basal ganglia integrative network: the role of the thalamus. Brain Res Bull. 2008; 78(2-3):69-74. PMC: 4459637. DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2008.09.013. View

16.

Senden M, Deco G, de Reus M, Goebel R, van den Heuvel M . Rich club organization supports a diverse set of functional network configurations. Neuroimage. 2014; 96:174-82. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.03.066. View

17.

Alcauter S, Lin W, Smith J, Short S, Goldman B, Reznick J . Development of thalamocortical connectivity during infancy and its cognitive correlations. J Neurosci. 2014; 34(27):9067-75. PMC: 4078084. DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0796-14.2014. View

18.

Pandit A, Robinson E, Aljabar P, Ball G, Gousias I, Wang Z . Whole-brain mapping of structural connectivity in infants reveals altered connection strength associated with growth and preterm birth. Cereb Cortex. 2013; 24(9):2324-33. DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bht086. View

19.

Bjuland K, Rimol L, Lohaugen G, Skranes J . Brain volumes and cognitive function in very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) young adults. Eur J Paediatr Neurol. 2014; 18(5):578-90. DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpn.2014.04.004. View

20.

Saeed N, Cowan F, Rutherford M, Edwards A . Reduced development of cerebral cortex in extremely preterm infants. Lancet. 2000; 356(9236):1162-3. DOI: 10.1016/s0140-6736(00)02761-6. View