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.

Regional homogeneity as a marker of sensory cortex dysmaturity in preterm infants.

Atypical perinatal sensory experience in preterm infants is thought to increase their risk of neurodevelopmental disabilities by altering the development of the sensory cortices. Here, we used resting-state fMRI data from preterm and term-born infants scanned between 32 and 48 weeks post-menstrual age to assess the effect of early ex-utero exposure on sensory cortex development. Specifically, we utilized a measure of local correlated-ness called regional homogeneity (ReHo).

Brain structural and functional outcomes in the offspring of women experiencing psychological distress during pregnancy.

In-utero exposure to maternal psychological distress is increasingly linked with disrupted fetal and neonatal brain development and long-term neurobehavioral dysfunction in children and adults. Elevated maternal psychological distress is associated with changes in fetal brain structure and function, including reduced hippocampal and cerebellar volumes, increased cerebral cortical gyrification and sulcal depth, decreased brain metabolites (e.g.

Association of brain functional connectivity with neurodevelopmental outcomes in healthy full-term newborns.

Objective: To study the association between neurodevelopmental outcomes and functional brain connectivity (FBC) in healthy term infants.

Methods: This is a retrospective study of prospectively collected High-density electroencephalography (HD-EEG) from newborns within 72 hours from birth. Developmental assessments were performed at two years of age using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development-III (BSID-III) measuring cognitive, language, motor, and socio-emotional scores.

Experience of early-life pain in premature infants is associated with atypical cerebellar development and later neurodevelopmental deficits.

Background: Infants born very and extremely premature (V/EPT) are at a significantly elevated risk for neurodevelopmental disorders and delays even in the absence of structural brain injuries. These risks may be due to earlier-than-typical exposure to the extrauterine environment, and its bright lights, loud noises, and exposures to painful procedures. Given the relative underdeveloped pain modulatory responses in these infants, frequent pain exposures may confer risk for later deficits.

Examining the relationship between fetal cortical thickness, gestational age, and maternal psychological distress.

In utero exposure to maternal stress, anxiety, and depression has been associated with reduced cortical thickness (CT), and CT changes, in turn, to adverse neuropsychiatric outcomes. Here, we investigated global and regional (G/RCT) changes associated with fetal exposure to maternal psychological distress in 265 brain MRI studies from 177 healthy fetuses of low-risk pregnant women. GCT was measured from cortical gray matter (CGM) voxels; RCT was estimated from 82 cortical regions.

Toward a more informative representation of the fetal-neonatal brain connectome using variational autoencoder.

Recent advances in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have helped elucidate previously inaccessible trajectories of early-life prenatal and neonatal brain development. To date, the interpretation of fetal-neonatal fMRI data has relied on linear analytic models, akin to adult neuroimaging data. However, unlike the adult brain, the fetal and newborn brain develops extraordinarily rapidly, far outpacing any other brain development period across the life span.

Harnessing the Power of Advanced Fetal Neuroimaging to Understand In Utero Footprints for Later Neuropsychiatric Disorders.

Adverse intrauterine events may profoundly impact fetal risk for future adult diseases. The mechanisms underlying this increased vulnerability are complex and remain poorly understood. Contemporary advances in fetal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have provided clinicians and scientists with unprecedented access to in vivo human fetal brain development to begin to identify emerging endophenotypes of neuropsychiatric disorders such as autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and schizophrenia.

Functional brain network properties of healthy full-term newborns quantified by scalp and source-reconstructed EEG.

Objective: Identifying the functional brain network properties of term low-risk newborns using high-density EEG (HD-EEG) and comparing these properties with those of established functional magnetic resonance image (fMRI) - based networks.

Methods: HD-EEG was collected from 113 low-risk term newborns before delivery hospital discharge and within 72 hours of birth. Functional brain networks were reconstructed using coherence at the scalp and source levels in delta, theta, alpha, beta, and gamma frequency bands.

Systematic evaluation of head motion on resting-state functional connectivity MRI in the neonate.

Reliability and robustness of resting state functional connectivity MRI (rs-fcMRI) relies, in part, on minimizing the influence of head motion on measured brain signals. The confounding effects of head motion on functional connectivity have been extensively studied in adults, but its impact on newborn brain connectivity remains unexplored. Here, using a large newborn data set consisting of 159 rs-fcMRI scans acquired in the Developing Brain Institute at Children's National Hospital and 416 scans from The Developing Human Connectome Project (dHCP), we systematically investigated associations between head motion and rs-fcMRI.

FetalGAN: Automated Segmentation of Fetal Functional Brain MRI Using Deep Generative Adversarial Learning and Multi-Scale 3D U-Net.

An important step in the preprocessing of resting state functional magnetic resonance images (rs-fMRI) is the separation of brain from non-brain voxels. Widely used imaging tools such as FSL's BET2 and AFNI's 3dSkullStrip accomplish this task effectively in children and adults. In fetal functional brain imaging, however, the presence of maternal tissue around the brain coupled with the non-standard position of the fetal head limit the usefulness of these tools.

Electroencephalogram in low-risk term newborns predicts neurodevelopmental metrics at age two years.

Objective: To determine whether neurodevelopmental biomarkers at 2 years of age are already present in the newborns' EEG at birth.

Methods: Low-risk term newborns were enrolled and studied utilizing EEG prior to discharge from the birth hospital. A 14-channel EEG montage (scalp-level) and source signals were calculated using the EEG.

Gestational age-related changes in the fetal functional connectome: in utero evidence for the global signal.

The human brain begins to develop in the third gestational week and rapidly grows and matures over the course of pregnancy. Compared to fetal structural neurodevelopment, less is known about emerging functional connectivity in utero. Here, we investigated gestational age (GA)-associated in vivo changes in functional brain connectivity during the second and third trimesters in a large dataset of 110 resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans from a cohort of 95 healthy fetuses.

Robust sex differences in functional brain connectivity are present in utero.

Sex-based differences in brain structure and function are observable throughout development and are thought to contribute to differences in behavior, cognition, and the presentation of neurodevelopmental disorders. Using multiple support vector machine (SVM) models as a data-driven approach to assess sex differences, we sought to identify regions exhibiting sex-dependent differences in functional connectivity and determine whether they were robust and sufficiently reliable to classify sex even prior to birth. To accomplish this, we used a sample of 110 human fetal resting state fMRI scans from 95 fetuses, performed between 19 and 40 gestational weeks.

Automatic brain segmentation in preterm infants with post-hemorrhagic hydrocephalus using 3D Bayesian U-Net.

Post-hemorrhagic hydrocephalus (PHH) is a severe complication of intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) in very preterm infants. PHH monitoring and treatment decisions rely heavily on manual and subjective two-dimensional measurements of the ventricles. Automatic and reliable three-dimensional (3D) measurements of the ventricles may provide a more accurate assessment of PHH, and lead to improved monitoring and treatment decisions.

Adverse Prenatal Exposures and Fetal Brain Development: Insights From Advanced Fetal Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Converging evidence from clinical and preclinical studies suggests that fetal vulnerability to adverse prenatal exposures increases the risk for neuropsychiatric diseases such as autism spectrum disorder, schizophrenia, and depression. Recent advances in fetal magnetic resonance imaging have allowed us to characterize typical fetal brain growth trajectories in vivo and to interrogate structural and functional alterations associated with intrauterine exposures, such as maternal stress, environmental toxins, drugs, and obesity. Here, we review proposed mechanisms for how prenatal influences disrupt neurodevelopment, including the role played by maternal and fetal inflammatory responses.

Functional Connectivity-Derived Optimal Gestational-Age Cut Points for Fetal Brain Network Maturity.

The architecture of the human connectome changes with brain maturation. Pivotal to understanding these changes is defining developmental periods when transitions in network topology occur. Here, using 110 resting-state functional connectivity data sets from healthy fetuses between 19 and 40 gestational weeks, we estimated optimal gestational-age (GA) cut points for dichotomizing fetuses into 'young' and 'old' groups based on global network features.

Image Quality Assessment of Fetal Brain MRI Using Multi-Instance Deep Learning Methods.

Background: Due to random motion of fetuses and maternal respirations, image quality of fetal brain MRIs varies considerably. To address this issue, visual inspection of the images is performed during acquisition phase and after 3D-reconstruction, and the images are re-acquired if they are deemed to be of insufficient quality. However, this process is time-consuming and subjective.