4.6 Article

Aberrant cortico-thalamic structural connectivity in premature-born adults

Journal

CORTEX
Volume 141, Issue -, Pages 347-362

Publisher

ELSEVIER MASSON, CORP OFF
DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2021.04.009

Keywords

Premature birth; Cortico-thalamic connectivity; Diffusion-weighted imaging; Probabilistic tractography; Verbal cognition

Funding

  1. Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft [SO 1336/1-1]
  2. German Federal Ministry of Education and Science [BMBF 01ER0801, BMBF 01ER0803]
  3. Kommission fur Klinische Forschung, Technische Universitat Munchen [KKF 8765162, KKF8700000474]

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The study found aberrant cortico-thalamic structural connectivity in very premature-born adults, which is linked with impairments in verbal cognitive abilities and related to the degree of prematurity. These changes may persist into adulthood after premature birth, based on corresponding findings in infants.
Premature birth is associated with alterations in brain structure, particularly in white matter. Among white matter, alterations in cortico-thalamic connections are present in premature-born infants, and they have been suggested both to last until adulthood and to contribute to impaired cognitive functions. To test these hypotheses, 70 very premature born adults and 67 full-term controls underwent cognitive testing and diffusion weighted imaging. Each cortical hemisphere was parcellated into six lobes, from which probabilistic tractography was performed to the thalamus. Connection probability was chosen as metric of structural connectivity. We found increased cortico-thalamic connection probability between left prefrontal cortices and left medio-dorsal thalamus and reduced connection probability between bilateral temporal cortices and bilateral anterior thalami in very premature-born adults. Aberrant prefronto-and temporothalamic connection probabilities were correlated with birth weight and days on ventilation, respectively, supporting the suggestion that these connectivity changes relate with the degree of prematurity. Moreover, an increase in left prefronto-thalamic connection probability also correlated with lower verbal comprehension index indicating its relevance for verbal cognition. Together, our results demonstrate that cortico-thalamic structural connectivity is aberrant in premature-born adults, with these changes being linked with impairments in verbal cognitive abilities. Due to corresponding findings in infants, data suggest aberrant development of cortico-thalamic connectivity after premature birth with lasting effects into adulthood. (c) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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