Human cortical neurogenesis is altered via glucocorticoid-mediated regulation of ZBTB16 expression.

Glucocorticoids are important for proper organ maturation, and their levels are tightly regulated during development. Here, we use human cerebral organoids and mice to study the cell-type-specific effects of glucocorticoids on neurogenesis. We show that glucocorticoids increase a specific type of basal progenitors (co-expressing PAX6 and EOMES) that has been shown to contribute to cortical expansion in gyrified species.

Visual alertness and brain diffusion tensor imaging at term age predict neurocognitive development at preschool age in extremely preterm-born children.

Introduction: Cognitive development is characterized by the structural and functional maturation of the brain. Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) provides methods of investigating the brain structure and connectivity and their correlations with the neurocognitive outcome. Our aim was to examine the relationship between early visual abilities, brain white matter structures, and the later neurocognitive outcome.

Extremely preterm children and relationships of minor neurodevelopmental impairments at 6 years.

Aim: This study investigated minor impairments in neurological, sensorimotor, and neuropsychological functioning in extremely preterm-born (EPT) children compared to term-born children. The aim was to explore the most affected domains and to visualize their co-occurrences in relationship maps.

Methods: A prospective cohort of 56 EPT children (35 boys) and 37 term-born controls (19 boys) were assessed at a median age of 6 years 7 months with Touwen Neurological Examination, Movement Assessment Battery for Children, 2nd edition (MABC-2), Sensory Integration and Praxis Test (SIPT), and a Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment, 2nd edition (NEPSY-II).

Newborn Neurobehavior Is Related to Later Neurodevelopment and Social Cognition Skills in Extremely Preterm-Born Children: A Prospective Longitudinal Cohort Study.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of the neonatal neurobehavioral characteristics to act as an indicator for later neurodevelopment and neurocognitive performance. Sixty-six infants born extremely preterm (<28 gestational weeks) were followed until 6.5 years.

Altered working memory-related brain responses and white matter microstructure in extremely preterm-born children at school age.

Preterm birth poses a risk for neurocognitive and behavioral development. Preterm children, who have not been diagnosed with neurological or cognitive deficits, enter normal schools and are expected to succeed as their term-born peers. Here we tested the hypotheses that despite an uneventful development after preterm birth, these children might exhibit subtle abnormalities in brain function and white-matter microstructure at school-age.

Associations of antenatal glucocorticoid exposure with mental health in children.

Background: Synthetic glucocorticoids, to enhance fetal maturation, are a standard treatment when preterm birth before 34 gestational weeks is imminent. While morbidity- and mortality-related benefits may outweigh potential neurodevelopmental harms in children born preterm (<37 gestational weeks), this may not hold true when pregnancy continues to term (⩾37 gestational weeks). We studied the association of antenatal betamethasone exposure on child mental health in preterm and term children.

Sensory-motor performance in seven-year-old children born extremely preterm.

Background: Children born preterm are prone to motor problems. Research on their motor performance has, however, rarely been integrated with sensory processing.

Aim: To examine sensory-motor performance in children born extremely preterm (EPT).

Maternal depressive symptoms during and after pregnancy are associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms in their 3- to 6-year-old children.

Maternal depressive symptoms during pregnancy have been associated with child behavioural symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in early childhood. However, it remains unclear if depressive symptoms throughout pregnancy are more harmful to the child than depressive symptoms only during certain times, and if maternal depressive symptoms after pregnancy add to or mediate any prenatal effects. 1,779 mother-child dyads participated in the Prediction and Prevention of Pre-eclampsia and Intrauterine Growth Restriction (PREDO) study.

Self-Reported Mental Health Problems Among Adults Born Preterm: A Meta-analysis.

Context: Preterm birth increases the risk for mental disorders in adulthood, yet findings on self-reported or subclinical mental health problems are mixed.

Objective: To study self-reported mental health problems among adults born preterm at very low birth weight (VLBW; ≤1500 g) compared with term controls in an individual participant data meta-analysis.

Data Sources: Adults Born Preterm International Collaboration.

Lack of Cortical Correlates of Response Inhibition in 6-Year-Olds Born Extremely Preterm - Evidence from a Go/NoGo Task in Magnetoencephalographic Recordings.

Children born extremely preterm (EPT) may have difficulties in response inhibition, but the neural basis of such problems is unknown. We recorded magnetoencephalography (MEG) during a somatosensory Go/NoGo task in 6-year-old children born EPT ( = 22) and in children born full term (FT; = 21). The children received tactile stimuli randomly to their left little (target) and index (non-target) finger and were instructed to squeeze a soft toy with the opposite hand every time they felt a stimulus on the little finger.