Structural & Functional Connectivity in the Developing Brain: State of the Field & Effects of Premature Birth
Gareth Ball1

1Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia

Synopsis

Recent advances in neuroimaging have allowed unprecedented insight into the structural and functional organisation of the newborn brain. Advanced image analysis methods allow the modelling and interrogation of brain development through the lens of network analysis, fostering an understanding of the emergence and advancement of connectivity in the neonatal brain. Premature birth, and subsequent early exposure to the extra-uterine environment, can be viewed as an extreme stressor to the developing brain. The long-term adverse impact of premature birth is well established, with lower gestational age at birth correlated to poor motor, cognitive and health outcomes. In this talk, I will outline the current approaches for investigating structural and functional connectivity in the newborn brain and describe the impact of preterm birth on brain network organisation.

TARGET AUDIENCE

Clinicians, radiologists, those interested in imaging the developing brain and the impact of premature birth on brain development

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Learn about methods to define and examine structural and functional brain networks in the neonate with MRI

2. Understand some common issues and possible solutions to consider when analysing paediatric neuroimaging data, including in-scanner motion, non-standard image processing pipelines.

3. Learn about the specific impact of preterm birth on the development of structural and functional brain connectivity networks.

CONCLUSIONS

Elucidating the complex pathways underlying structural and functional brain development with MRI has the potential to improve clinical practice for children born preterm. Identifying how early brain organisation is established and how brain development is impacted by early life stressors including premature birth may lead to the future identification of early biomarkers or putative therapeutic strategies.

Acknowledgements

Funding from the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, the Royal Children’s Hospital, Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne and the Victorian Government's Operational Infrastructure Support Program

References

Doria, V., Beckmann, C.F., Arichi, T., Merchant, N., Groppo, M., Turkheimer, F.E., Counsell, S.J., Murgasova, M., Aljabar, P., Nunes, R.G. and Larkman, D.J., 2010. Emergence of resting state networks in the preterm human brain. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(46), pp.20015-20020.

Zhao, T., Xu, Y. and He, Y., 2018. Graph theoretical modeling of baby brain networks. NeuroImage. doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.06.038

Ball, G., Aljabar, P., Zebari, S., Tusor, N., Arichi, T., Merchant, N., Robinson, E.C., Ogundipe, E., Rueckert, D., Edwards, A.D. and Counsell, S.J., 2014. Rich-club organization of the newborn human brain. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(20), pp.7456-7461.

Proc. Intl. Soc. Mag. Reson. Med. 27 (2019)