Microstructural Measures of the Inferior Longitudinal Fasciculus Predict Later Cognitive and Language Development in Infants Born With Extremely Low Birth Weight.

Objective: Extremely preterm children are at high risk for adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. Identifying predictors of discrete developmental outcomes early in life would allow for targeted neuroprotective therapies when neuroplasticity is at its peak. Our goal was to examine whether diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) metrics of the inferior longitudinal and uncinate fasciculi early in life could predict later cognitive and language outcomes.