Effect of Extremely Preterm Birth on Adolescent Brain Network Organization.

Extremely preterm (EPT) birth, defined as birth at a gestational age (GA) <28 weeks, can have a lasting impact on cognition throughout the life span. Previous investigations reveal differences in brain structure and connectivity between infants born preterm and full-term (FT), but how does preterm birth impact the adolescent connectome? In this study, we investigate how EPT birth can alter broadscale network organization later in life by comparing resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging connectome-based parcellations of the entire cortex in adolescents born EPT ( = 22) to age-matched adolescents born FT (GA ≥37 weeks,  = 28). We compare these parcellations to adult parcellations from previous studies and explore the relationship between an individual's network organization and behavior.