Characterizing the Subcortical Structures in Youth with Congenital Heart Disease

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Congenital heart disease is a leading cause of neurocognitive impairment. Many subcortical structures are known to play a crucial role in higher-order cognitive processing. However, comprehensive anatomic characterization of these structures is currently lacking in the congenital heart disease population. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the morphometry and volume of the globus pallidus, striatum, and thalamus between youth born with congenital heart disease and healthy peers. MATERIALS AND METHODS:We recruited youth between 16 and 24 years of age born with congenital heart disease who underwent cardiopulmonary bypass surgery before 2 years of age (n ¼ 48) and healthy controls of the same age (n ¼ 48). All participants underwent a brain MR imaging to acquire high-resolution 3D T1-weighted images.RESULTS: Smaller surface area and inward bilateral displacement across the lateral surfaces of the globus pallidus were concentrated anteriorly in the congenital heart disease group compared with controls (q , 0.15). On the lateral surfaces of bilateral thalami, we found regions of both larger and smaller surface areas, as well as inward and outward displacement in the congenital heart disease group compared with controls (q , 0.15). We did not find any morphometric differences between groups for the striatum. For the volumetric analyses, only the right globus pallidus showed a significant volume reduction (q , 0.05) in the congenital heart disease group compared with controls. CONCLUSIONS:This study reports morphometric alterations in youth with congenital heart disease in the absence of volume reductions, suggesting that volume alone is not sufficient to detect and explain subtle neuroanatomic differences in this clinical population.ABBREVIATION: CHD ¼ congenital heart disease C ongenital heart disease (CHD) is a leading cause of neurodevelopmental impairment. 1 A variety of motor delays, language disorders, behavioral problems, and learning difficulties have been described in children and adolescents with CHD. 2,3 Adults and senior citizens with CHD are also at a greater risk for neurocognitive challenges and early cognitive decline. 4 Brain

Altered resting state functional connectivity in youth with congenital heart disease operated during infancy

“…Indeed, a growing body of quantitative structural MRI studies have reported the presence of regional alterations in brain development in adolescents and young adults with complex CHD [10]. Differences reported include smaller volumes or morphometric variations in the cortical and subcortical grey matter [3,[11][12][13], as well as microstructural alterations predominantly in the association tracts and frontal regions [14,15]. Moreover, previous findings have reported associations between regional structural alterations and cognitive functions; however, these relationships were generally small in magnitude [3,13,16].…”