Alterations in cortical thickness development in preterm-born individuals: Implications for high-order cognitive functions

Kie Woo Nam,Nazareth Castellanos,Andrew Simmons,Seán Froudist-Walsh,Matthew P Allin,Muriel Walshe,Robin M Murray,Alan Evans,J-Sebastian Muehlboeck,Chiara Nosarti

doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.04.015

Kie Woo Nam, Nazareth Castellanos + Show 8 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.04.015

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Abstract

Very preterm birth (gestational age <33weeks) is associated with alterations in cortical thickness and with neuropsychological/behavioural impairments. Here we studied cortical thickness in very preterm born individuals and controls in mid-adolescence (mean age 15years) and beginning of adulthood (mean age 20years), as well as longitudinal changes between the two time points. Using univariate approaches, we showed both increases and decreases in cortical thickness in very preterm born individuals compared to controls. Specifically (1) very preterm born adolescents displayed extensive areas of greater cortical thickness, especially in occipitotemporal and prefrontal cortices, differences which decreased substantially by early adulthood; (2) at both time points, very preterm-born participants showed smaller cortical thickness, especially in parahippocampal and insular regions. We then employed a multivariate approach (support vector machine) to study spatially discriminating features between the two groups, which achieved a mean accuracy of 86.5%. The spatially distributed regions in which cortical thickness best discriminated between the groups (top 5%) included temporal, occipitotemporal, parietal and prefrontal cortices. Within these spatially distributed regions (top 1%), longitudinal changes in cortical thickness in left temporal pole, right occipitotemporal gyrus and left superior parietal lobe were significantly associated with scores on language-based tests of executive function. These results describe alterations in cortical thickness development in preterm-born individuals in their second decade of life, with implications for high-order cognitive processing.

Highlights

Developmental patterns of cortical maturation following very preterm birth (VPT, b 32 weeks of gestation) have not been systematically investigated
The findings of this study show that cortical development from midadolescence to early adulthood is altered in individuals who were born VPT
As cortical development continues beyond adolescence (Gogtay et al, 2004; Kochunov et al, 2011; Lebel and Beaulieu, 2011; Petanjek et al, 2011), it remains to be ascertained whether these alterations reflect neurodevelopmental delays or long lasting structural alterations associated with VPT birth

Summary

Introduction

Developmental patterns of cortical maturation following very preterm birth (VPT, b 32 weeks of gestation) have not been systematically investigated. Overall, compared to controls, VPT individuals tend to show developmental delay of cortical thinning in parietal, temporal, and frontal cortices (Martinussen et al, 2005; Frye et al, 2010; Nagy et al, 2011; Skranes et al, 2012; Bjuland et al, 2013; Murner-Lavanchy et al, 2014). These cortical alterations are spatially located in brain areas displaying typical patterns of cortical thinning in healthy controls from early childhood to. Cortical thickness is used as an index of neurodevelopment (Shaw et al, 2008), and has been associated with cognitive functions (Sowell et al, 2004)

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