Third Trimester Development of Central Autonomic Network Connectivity is Altered in an Extrauterine Environment.

Introduction: The Central Autonomic Network (CAN), which involves complex interconnected brain regions that modulate the autonomic nervous system, may be key to understanding higher risk for psychosocial and behavioral challenges in preterm neonates.

Methods: We compared resting state functional connectivity of the CAN in 94 healthy term-born controls and 94 preterm infants at term-equivalent age (TEA). In preterm infants we correlated CAN connectivity with postmenstrual age (PMA).

Asymmetry of Directed Brain Connectivity at Birth in Low-Risk Full-Term Newborns.

Purpose: Functional connectivity hubs were previously identified at the source level in low-risk full-term newborns by high-density electroencephalography (HD-EEG). However, the directionality of information flow among hubs remains unclear. The aim of this study was to study the directionality of information flow among source level hubs in low-risk full-term newborns using HD-EEG.

Separating group- and individual-level brain signatures in the newborn functional connectome: A deep learning approach.

Recent studies indicate that differences in cognition among individuals may be partially attributed to unique brain wiring patterns. While functional connectivity (FC)-based fingerprinting has demonstrated high accuracy in identifying adults, early studies on neonates suggest that individualized FC signatures are absent. We posit that individual uniqueness is present in neonatal FC data and that conventional linear models fail to capture the rapid developmental trajectories characteristic of newborn brains.

Greater Neighborhood Disadvantage Is Associated with Alterations in Fetal Functional Brain Network Structure.

Objective: To determine the association between neighborhood disadvantage (ND) and functional brain development of in utero fetuses.

Study Design: We conducted an observational study using Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) scores to assess the impact of ND on a prospectively recruited sample of healthy pregnant women from Washington, DC. Using 79 functional magnetic resonance imaging scans from 68 healthy pregnancies at a mean gestational age of 33.

Cerebellar volume and functional connectivity in neonates predicts social and emotional development in toddlers.

Over the past decade, a growing body of research in adults has emphasized the role of the cerebellum in social and emotional cognition. This has been further supported by findings of delayed social and emotional development in toddlers with cerebellar injury during the fetal and newborn periods. However, the contributions of the cerebellum to social-emotional development in typically developing newborns are unclear.