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Gilchrist CP, Kelly CE, Cumberland A, Dhollander T, Treyvaud K, Lee K, Cheong JLY, Doyle LW, Inder TE, Thompson DK, Tolcos M, Anderson PJ. Fiber-Specific Measures of White Matter Microstructure and Macrostructure Are Associated With Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms in Children Born Very Preterm and Full-term. Biol Psychiatry 2023; 93:575-585. [PMID: 36481064 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2022.09.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2022] [Revised: 09/06/2022] [Accepted: 09/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Tensor-based investigations suggest that delayed or disrupted white matter development may relate to adverse behavioral outcomes in individuals born very preterm (VP); however, metrics derived from such models lack specificity. Here, we applied a fixel-based analysis framework to examine white matter microstructural and macrostructural correlates of concurrent internalizing and externalizing problems in VP and full-term (FT) children at 7 and 13 years. METHODS Diffusion imaging data were collected in a longitudinal cohort of VP and FT individuals (130 VP and 29 FT at 7 years, 125 VP and 44 FT at 13 years). Fixel-based measures of fiber density, fiber-bundle cross-section, and fiber density and cross-section were extracted from 21 white matter tracts previously implicated in psychopathology. Internalizing and externalizing symptoms were assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire parent report at 7 and 13 years. RESULTS At age 7 years, widespread reductions in fiber-bundle cross-section and fiber density and cross-section and tract-specific reductions in fiber density were related to more internalizing and externalizing symptoms irrespective of birth group. At age 13 years, fixel-based measures were not related to internalizing symptoms, while tract-specific reductions in fiber density, fiber-bundle cross-section, and fiber density and cross-section measures were related to more externalizing symptoms in the FT group only. CONCLUSIONS Age-specific neurobiological markers of internalizing and externalizing problems identified in this study extend previous tensor-based findings to inform pathophysiological models of behavior problems and provide the foundation for investigations into novel preventative and therapeutic interventions to mitigate risk in VP and other high-risk infant populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Courtney P Gilchrist
- School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Victorian Infant Brain Studies, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Developmental Imaging, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
| | - Claire E Kelly
- Victorian Infant Brain Studies, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Developmental Imaging, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Science, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Angela Cumberland
- School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Thijs Dhollander
- Developmental Imaging, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Karli Treyvaud
- Victorian Infant Brain Studies, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Department of Psychology and Counselling, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Newborn Research, Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Katherine Lee
- Victorian Infant Brain Studies, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics Unit, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Jeanie L Y Cheong
- Victorian Infant Brain Studies, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Newborn Research, Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Lex W Doyle
- Victorian Infant Brain Studies, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Newborn Research, Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Terrie E Inder
- Victorian Infant Brain Studies, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Deanne K Thompson
- Victorian Infant Brain Studies, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Developmental Imaging, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Mary Tolcos
- School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Peter J Anderson
- Victorian Infant Brain Studies, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Science, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
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The structural connectome and internalizing and externalizing symptoms at 7 and 13 years in individuals born very preterm and full-term. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY: COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2021; 7:424-434. [PMID: 34655805 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2021.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2021] [Revised: 09/15/2021] [Accepted: 10/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Children born very preterm (VP) are at higher risk of emotional and behavioral problems compared with full-term (FT) children. We investigated the neurobiological basis of internalizing and externalizing symptoms in individuals born VP and FT by applying a graph theory approach. METHODS Structural and diffusion MRI data were combined to generate structural connectomes and calculate measures of network integration and segregation at 7 (VP:72; FT:17) and 13 years (VP:125; FT:44). Internalizing and externalizing were assessed at 7 and 13 years using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Linear regression models were used to relate network measures and internalizing and externalizing symptoms concurrently at 7 and 13 years. RESULTS Lower network integration (characteristic path length and global efficiency) was associated with higher internalizing symptoms in VP and FT children at 7 years, but not at 13 years. The association between network integration (characteristic path length) and externalizing symptoms at 7 years was weaker, but there was some evidence for differential associations between groups, with lower integration in the VP and higher integration in the FT group associated with higher externalizing symptoms. At 13 years, there was some evidence that associations between network segregation (average clustering coefficient, transitivity, local efficiency) and externalizing differed between the VP and FT groups, with stronger positive associations in the VP group. CONCLUSIONS This study provides insights into the neurobiological basis of emotional and behavioral problems following preterm birth, highlighting the role of the structural connectome in internalizing and externalizing symptoms in childhood and adolescence.
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