White matter microstructure on diffusion tensor imaging is associated with conventional magnetic resonance imaging findings and cognitive function in adolescents born preterm

Feldman, Heidi M.; Lee, Eliana S.; Loe, Irene M.; Yeom, Kristen W.; Grill-Spector, Kalanit; Luna, Beatríz

doi:10.1111/j.1469-8749.2012.04378.x

Cited by 48 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…For instance, given the impact of very preterm birth on white matter development, it is not unlikely that less fibers crossed the white matter tracts in very preterm children as compared with term controls, which may have resulted in the relatively higher FA value for very preterm children. Interestingly, other studies also described increases in FA values of similar tracts in very preterm children at term, in childhood, or at adolescent age (23)(24)(25). Future studies are warranted to further clarify the potential presence of adaptive compensation in white matter tracts underlying interference control in very preterm children.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

A crucial role for white matter alterations in interference control problems of very preterm children

et al. 2014

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Background: Attention problems are among the most prominent behavioral deficits reported in very preterm children (below 32 wk of gestation) at school age. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the brain abnormalities underlying attention problems in very preterm children by investigating the role of abnormalities in white and gray brain matter during interference control, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)-guided probabilistic diffusion tensor tractography. Methods: Twenty-nine very preterm children (mean (SD) age: 8.6 (0.3) y), and 47 term controls (mean (SD) age: 8.7 (0.5) y), performed a fMRI version of the Eriksen Flanker task measuring interference control. results: Very preterm children showed slower reaction times than term controls when interfering stimuli were presented, indicating poorer interference control. Very preterm children and term controls did not differ in mean activation of the cortical regions involved in interference control. However, impaired fractional anisotropy (FA) was found in very preterm children in specifically those fiber tracts that innervate the cortical regions involved in interference control. Lower FA was related to poorer interference control in very preterm children. conclusion: White matter alterations have a crucial role in the interference control problems of very preterm children at school age. i mproved perinatal care has increased survival rates of very preterm (<32 wk of gestation) infants. However, large alterations in brain development remain present throughout childhood and adolescence (1), and surviving very preterm children appear to have pervasive behavioral problems more frequently than term peers (2,3). At school age, attention problems are among the most prominent behavioral deficits in very preterm children (4,5), having a detrimental impact on school performance and social functioning.One core aspect of attention is interference control, the ability to suppress distracters that might slow the primary response (6). The brain attention network involved in interference control has been widely investigated using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) tasks including the Eriksen Flanker task (7-9), suggesting involvement of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), inferior and lateral prefrontal cortices, and inferior parietal cortices.This study aims to elucidate brain abnormalities underpinning attention problems in very preterm children, by investigating the role of impairments in white and gray brain matter in interference control in very preterm children and term controls. First, we examined interference control problems and potential differences in cortical activation between very preterm children and term controls using the Eriksen Flanker task adapted for fMRI. Second, by using fMRI-guided probabilistic diffusion tensor tractography, we studied potential differences between very preterm children and term controls in white matter development using values of fractional anisotropy (FA) of specifically those fiber tracts that inne...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

A crucial role for white matter alterations in interference control problems of very preterm children

et al. 2014

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“…The participants represented the entire sample of healthy children who enrolled in the Palo Alto, CA site of a multi-site larger imaging study (34, 35) with the exception of one child from that sample was excluded because of an incidental finding of a subarachnoid cyst. All of the participants were free of neurological, learning, behavioral, or emotional disorders because such conditions may be associated with altered brain structure.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tract Profiles of the Cerebellar White Matter Pathways in Children and Adolescents

et al. 2015

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Intact development of cerebellar connectivity is essential for healthy neuromotor and neurocognitive development. To date, limited knowledge about the microstructural properties of cerebellar peduncles, the major white matter tracts of the cerebellum, is available for children and adolescents. Such information would be useful as a comparison for studies of normal development, clinical conditions, or associations of cerebellar structures with cognitive and motor functions. The goal of the present study was to evaluate the variability in diffusion measures of the cerebellar peduncles within individuals and within a normative sample of healthy children. Participants were 19 healthy children and adolescents, aged 9-17 years, mean age 13.0 +/−2.3. We analyzed diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) data with deterministic tractography. We generated tract profiles for each of the cerebellar peduncles by extracting four diffusion properties (fractional anisotropy (FA), mean-, radial-, and axial-diffusivity) at 30 equidistant points along each tract. We were able to identify the middle cerebellar peduncle and the bilateral inferior and superior cerebellar peduncles in all participants. The results showed that within each of the peduncles, the diffusion properties varied along the trajectory of the tracts. However, the tracts showed consistent patterns of variation across individuals; the coefficient of variation for FA across individual profiles was low (≤ 20%) for each tract. We observed no systematic variation of the diffusion properties with age. These cerebellar tract profiles of the cerebellar peduncles can serve as a reference for future studies of children across the age range and for children and adolescents with clinical conditions that affect the cerebellum.

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“…[63][64][65][66][67][68] In this cohort of preterm children without severe brain injury or major neurosensory/motor/cognitive impairment, we demonstrated that after accounting for degree of prematurity, systemic illness, medication exposures, and concurrent brain injury, greater numbers of invasive procedures interacted with alterations in WM to predict lower IQ.…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 96%

Invasive Procedures in Preterm Children: Brain and Cognitive Development at School Age

et al. 2014

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WHAT'S KNOWN ON THIS SUBJECT: Greater numbers of invasive procedures from birth to term-equivalent age, adjusted for clinical confounders, are associated with altered brain microstructure during neonatal care and poorer cognitive outcome at 18 months' corrected age in children born very preterm.WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS: Altered myelination at school age is associated with greater numbers of invasive procedures during hospitalization in very preterm children without severe brain injury or neurosensory impairment. Greater numbers of invasive procedures and altered brain microstructure interact to predict lower IQ. abstract BACKGROUND: Very preterm infants (born 24-32 weeks' gestation) undergo numerous invasive procedures during neonatal care. Repeated skin-breaking procedures in rodents cause neuronal cell death, and in human preterm neonates higher numbers of invasive procedures from birth to term-equivalent age are associated with abnormal brain development, even after controlling for other clinical risk factors. It is unknown whether higher numbers of invasive procedures are associated with long-term alterations in brain microstructure and cognitive outcome at school age in children born very preterm. METHODS:Fifty children born very preterm underwent MRI and cognitive testing at median age 7.6 years (interquartile range, 7.5-7.7). T 1 -and T 2 -weighted images were assessed for the severity of brain injury. Magnetic resonance diffusion tensor sequences were used to measure fractional anisotropy (FA), an index of white matter (WM) maturation, from 7 anatomically defined WM regions. Child cognition was assessed using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV. Multivariate modeling was used to examine relationships between invasive procedures, brain microstructure, and cognition, adjusting for clinical confounders (eg, infection, ventilation, brain injury). RESULTS:Greater numbers of invasive procedures were associated with lower FA values of the WM at age 7 years (P = .01). The interaction between the number of procedures and FA was associated with IQ (P = .02), such that greater numbers of invasive procedures and lower FA of the superior WM were related to lower IQ. CONCLUSIONS:Invasive procedures during neonatal care contribute to long-term abnormalities in WM microstructure and lower IQ. Pediatrics 2014;133:412-421

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White matter microstructure on diffusion tensor imaging is associated with conventional magnetic resonance imaging findings and cognitive function in adolescents born preterm

Cited by 48 publications

References 27 publications

A crucial role for white matter alterations in interference control problems of very preterm children

A crucial role for white matter alterations in interference control problems of very preterm children

Tract Profiles of the Cerebellar White Matter Pathways in Children and Adolescents

Invasive Procedures in Preterm Children: Brain and Cognitive Development at School Age

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