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Kelly KJ, Hutton JS, Parikh NA, Barnes-Davis ME. Neuroimaging of brain connectivity related to reading outcomes in children born preterm: A critical narrative review. Front Pediatr 2023; 11:1083364. [PMID: 36937974 PMCID: PMC10014573 DOI: 10.3389/fped.2023.1083364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2022] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 03/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Premature children are at high risk for delays in language and reading, which can lead to poor school achievement. Neuroimaging studies have assessed structural and functional connectivity by diffusion MRI, functional MRI, and magnetoencephalography, in order to better define the "reading network" in children born preterm. Findings point to differences in structural and functional connectivity compared to children born at term. It is not entirely clear whether this discrepancy is due to delayed development or alternative mechanisms for reading, which may have developed to compensate for brain injury in the perinatal period. This narrative review critically appraises the existing literature evaluating the neural basis of reading in preterm children, summarizes the current findings, and suggests future directions in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaitlyn J. Kelly
- Division of Neonatology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States
| | - John S. Hutton
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, United States
- Division of General & Community Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States
| | - Nehal A. Parikh
- Division of Neonatology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, United States
| | - Maria E. Barnes-Davis
- Division of Neonatology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, United States
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Toescu SM, Bruckert L, Jabarkheel R, Yecies D, Zhang M, Clark CA, Mankad K, Aquilina K, Grant GA, Feldman HM, Travis KE, Yeom KW. Spatiotemporal changes in along-tract profilometry of cerebellar peduncles in cerebellar mutism syndrome. Neuroimage Clin 2022; 35:103000. [PMID: 35370121 PMCID: PMC9421471 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2022.103000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2021] [Revised: 01/16/2022] [Accepted: 03/28/2022] [Indexed: 10/29/2022]
Abstract
Cerebellar mutism syndrome, characterised by mutism, emotional lability and cerebellar motor signs, occurs in up to 39% of children following resection of medulloblastoma, the most common malignant posterior fossa tumour of childhood. Its pathophysiology remains unclear, but prior studies have implicated damage to the superior cerebellar peduncles. In this study, the objective was to conduct high-resolution spatial profilometry of the cerebellar peduncles and identify anatomic biomarkers of cerebellar mutism syndrome. In this retrospective study, twenty-eight children with medulloblastoma (mean age 8.8 ± 3.8 years) underwent diffusion MRI at four timepoints over one year. Forty-nine healthy children (9.0 ± 4.2 years), scanned at a single timepoint, served as age- and sex-matched controls. Automated Fibre Quantification was used to segment cerebellar peduncles and compute fractional anisotropy (FA) at 30 nodes along each tract. Thirteen patients developed cerebellar mutism syndrome. FA was significantly lower in the distal third of the left superior cerebellar peduncle pre-operatively in all patients compared to controls (FA in proximal third 0.228, middle and distal thirds 0.270, p = 0.01, Cohen's d = 0.927). Pre-operative differences in FA did not predict cerebellar mutism syndrome. However, post-operative reductions in FA were highly specific to the distal left superior cerebellar peduncle, and were most pronounced in children with cerebellar mutism syndrome compared to those without at the 1-4 month follow up (0.325 vs 0.512, p = 0.042, d = 1.36) and at the 1-year follow up (0.342, vs 0.484, p = 0.038, d = 1.12). High spatial resolution cerebellar profilometry indicated a site-specific alteration of the distal segment of the superior cerebellar peduncle seen in cerebellar mutism syndrome which may have important surgical implications in the treatment of these devastating tumours of childhood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian M Toescu
- Division of Developmental-Behavioural Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Department of Radiology, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Developmental Imaging and Biophysics Section, UCL-GOS Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford St, London WC1N 1EH, UK; Department of Neurosurgery, Great Ormond Street Hospital, London WC1N 3JH, UK.
| | - Lisa Bruckert
- Division of Developmental-Behavioural Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Rashad Jabarkheel
- Department of Neurosurgery, Lucille Packard Children's Hospital, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Derek Yecies
- Department of Neurosurgery, Lucille Packard Children's Hospital, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Michael Zhang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Lucille Packard Children's Hospital, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Christopher A Clark
- Developmental Imaging and Biophysics Section, UCL-GOS Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford St, London WC1N 1EH, UK
| | - Kshitij Mankad
- Department of Radiology, Great Ormond Street Hospital, London WC1N 3JH, UK
| | - Kristian Aquilina
- Department of Neurosurgery, Great Ormond Street Hospital, London WC1N 3JH, UK
| | - Gerald A Grant
- Department of Neurosurgery, Lucille Packard Children's Hospital, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Heidi M Feldman
- Division of Developmental-Behavioural Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Katherine E Travis
- Division of Developmental-Behavioural Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Kristen W Yeom
- Department of Radiology, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
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Bruckert L, Borchers LR, Dodson CK, Marchman VA, Travis KE, Ben-Shachar M, Feldman HM. White Matter Plasticity in Reading-Related Pathways Differs in Children Born Preterm and at Term: A Longitudinal Analysis. Front Hum Neurosci 2019; 13:139. [PMID: 31139064 PMCID: PMC6519445 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2019.00139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2018] [Accepted: 04/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Children born preterm (PT) are at risk for white matter injuries based on complications of prematurity. They learn to read but on average perform below peers born full term (FT). Studies have yet to establish whether properties of white matter pathways at the onset of learning to read are associated with individual variation later in reading development in PT children. Here, we asked whether fractional anisotropy (FA) at age 6 years is associated with reading outcome at age 8 years in PT children in the same pathways as previously demonstrated in a sample of FT children. PT (n = 34, mean gestational age = 29.5 weeks) and FT children (n = 37) completed diffusion MRI and standardized measures of non-verbal IQ, language, and phonological awareness at age 6 years. Reading skills were assessed at age 8 years. Mean tract-FA was extracted from pathways that predicted reading outcome in children born FT: left arcuate fasciculus (Arc), bilateral superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), and left inferior cerebellar peduncle (ICP). We explored associations in additional pathways in the PT children: bilateral inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, inferior longitudinal fasciculus, and uncinate fasciculus. Linear regression models examined whether the prediction of reading outcome at age 8 years based on mean tract-FA at age 6 years was moderated by birth group. Children born PT and FT did not differ significantly in tract-FA at age 6 years or in reading at age 8 years. Sex, socioeconomic status, and non-verbal IQ at age 6 years were associated with reading outcome and were included as covariates in all models. Birth group status significantly moderated associations between reading outcome and mean tract-FA only in the left Arc, right SLF, and left ICP, before and after consideration of pre-literacy skills. Microstructural properties of these cerebral and cerebellar pathways predicted later reading outcome in FT but not in PT children. Children born PT may rely on alternative pathways to achieve fluent reading. These findings have implications for plasticity of neural organization after early white matter injury.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa Bruckert
- The Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics Research Group, Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
| | - Lauren R Borchers
- The Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics Research Group, Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
| | - Cory K Dodson
- The Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics Research Group, Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
| | - Virginia A Marchman
- Language Learning Lab, Center for Infant Studies, Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
| | - Katherine E Travis
- The Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics Research Group, Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
| | - Michal Ben-Shachar
- The Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.,Department of English Literature and Linguistics, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Heidi M Feldman
- The Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics Research Group, Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
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