Connectivity-based parcellation of subcortical structures in the preterm infant’s brain at term age
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1
The University of Queensland, Australia
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2
University of Pisa, Italy
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3
The Australian e-Health Research Centre, CSIRO, Australia
Following preterm birth, the development of important grey and white matter structures is often delayed or impaired, affecting sensory, motor, and higher cognitive functioning. Non-invasive neuroimaging techniques, which can accurately assess injury to these structures, would be highly informative for early intervention therapies. Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging (dMRI) offers a unique tool the non-invasive assessment of brain organisation and maturation.
In this study, we employed dMRI tractography to identify anatomically meaningful partitions of the three most frequently studied subcortical gray and white matter structures in the preterm infant’s brain at term equivalent age: the corpus callosum, the internal capsule, and the thalamus. Structures were parcellated based on their connectivity to 24 cortical target regions per hemisphere. We found that, even at this young age, this approach revealed a topographical organisation of connections within these brain structures, consistent across infants. To further demonstrate the utility of this approach, we assessed whether the integrity of motor pathways originating from these regions (as measured using Fractional Anisotropy, FA, and Mean Diffusivity, MD) was related with motor function at term equivalent age (as measured using the Dubowitz Neonatal Neurological Assessment). Results of this analysis revealed that white matter microstructure was related to motor function only when the entire tract was assessed, but not when only the pre-defined subcortical region of interest (ROI) was assessed. This finding highlights the importance of using tractography instead of conventional ROI analysis for the assessment of the infant’s brain.
Keywords:
Magnetic Resonance Imaging,
preterm infants,
Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging,
tractography,
neonates
Conference:
ACNS-2012 Australasian Cognitive Neuroscience Conference, Brisbane, Australia, 29 Nov - 2 Dec, 2012.
Presentation Type:
Oral Presentation
Topic:
Motor
Citation:
Pannek
K,
D'Acunto
G,
Guzzetta
A,
Finnigan
S,
Boyd
R,
Colditz
P and
Rose
S
(2012). Connectivity-based parcellation of subcortical structures in the preterm infant’s brain at term age.
Conference Abstract:
ACNS-2012 Australasian Cognitive Neuroscience Conference.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2012.208.00077
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Received:
25 Oct 2012;
Published Online:
07 Nov 2012.
*
Correspondence:
Ms. Kerstin Pannek, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, k.pannek1@uq.edu.au