Brain tissue volumes at term‐equivalent age are associated with early motor behavior in very preterm infants

Abstract

Preterm birth is associated with a wide range of adverse developmental outcomes, including sensory, motor, cognitive and language impairments, and behavioral or attention problems. Subtle motor deficits that might emerge in premature infants with no evident or with mild brain injury encompass qualitative and quantitative aspects of motor behavior. This prospective cohort study provided an evaluation of the relationship between brain tissue volumes revealed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at term‐equivalent age and motor behavior in infancy in very preterm infants (total number = 40; mean gestational age = 28 weeks + 4 days; mean birth weight = 1190 g) without evident or with mild brain injury. Infants were recruited at birth and assessed at 12 months corrected age using the tool for qualitative and quantitative assessment of motor behavior, infant motor profile. The brain tissue was segmented first using advanced segmentation techniques and the volumes were measured by summing the volumes of all voxels belonging to a particular tissue class. The associations between volumetric brain MRI measures with motor behavior were explored using linear regression analyses. Results showed that larger total brain volumes were associated with higher motor score. Similar relationships were documented for parietal lobe, deep gray matter, and cerebellum volumes. Volumetric quantitative data of brain structures may serve as biomarkers for subtle motor deficits described in very preterm born infants without or with mild brain lesions apparent on MRI.

Postnatal serum IGF-1 levels associate with brain volumes at term in extremely preterm infants

“… 43 , 45 , 46 Early quantitative measurements of the cerebellum have been associated with motor behavior during the first 2 years of life, as well as cognitive development; however, further studies are required to elucidate the exact role of a reduced size of the cerebellum. 47 – 50 …”

Maternal anxiety‐driven modulation of fetal limbic connectivity designs a backbone linking neonatal brain functional topology to socio‐emotional development in early childhood

“…According to the radial vulnerability hypothesis elaborated by Kostović and colleagues axonal pathways are the most vulnerable during the most intense phase of their growth (Katušić et al, 2020;Kostović et al, 2014Kostović et al, , 2021. Altered microstructural development of fronto-limbic pathways-and particularly of the uncinate fasciculus-has been found in association with maternal stress and anxiety during pregnancy (Dean et al, 2018;Lautarescu, Pecheva, et al, 2020;Posner et al, 2016;Rifkin-Graboi et al, 2015;Sarkar et al, 2014;VanTieghem & Tottenham, 2017).…”

Behavioral outcome of very preterm children at 5 years of age: Prognostic utility of brain tissue volumes at term‐equivalent‐age, perinatal, and environmental factors

“…Some studies have investigated the relationship between structural brain alterations at TEA and neurodevelopmental outcome in children born too soon (Gui et al., 2019 ; Keunen et al., 2016 ; Moeskops et al., 2017 ). A recent study demonstrated a relationship between brain tissue volumes at TEA and early motor behavior in VPT infants (Katušić et al., 2020 ). In addition, Lind et al.…”

“…Some studies have investigated the relationship between structural brain alterations at TEA and neurodevelopmental outcome in children born too soon (Gui et al, 2019;Keunen et al, 2016;Moeskops et al, 2017). A recent study demonstrated a relationship between brain tissue volumes at TEA and early motor behavior in VPT infants (Katušić et al, 2020). In addition, Lind et al (2010) demonstrated significant associations between smaller volumes of total brain tissue and poorer executive functions, between smaller cerebellar volumes and both poorer executive functions and motor skills, as well as between larger brainstem volume and poorer language functions.…”