Department of Pediatrics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520-8064, USA.
Semin Perinatol. 2011 Feb;35(1):34-43. doi: 10.1053/j.semperi.2010.10.006.
Prematurely born children are at increased risk for cognitive deficits, but the neurobiological basis of these findings remains poorly understood. Because variations in neural circuitry may influence performance on cognitive tasks, recent investigations have explored the impact of preterm birth on connectivity in the developing brain. Diffusion tensor imaging studies demonstrate widespread alterations in fractional anisotropy, a measure of axonal integrity and microstructural connectivity, throughout the developing preterm brain. Functional connectivity studies report that preterm neonates, children and adolescents exhibit alterations in both resting state and task-based connectivity when compared with term control subjects. Taken together, these data suggest that neurodevelopmental impairment following preterm birth may represent a disease of neural connectivity.
早产儿认知缺陷的风险增加，但这些发现的神经生物学基础仍知之甚少。由于神经回路的变化可能会影响认知任务的表现，最近的研究探索了早产对发育中大脑连接的影响。弥散张量成像研究表明，在整个发育中的早产儿大脑中，分数各向异性（一种衡量轴突完整性和微观结构连接的指标）广泛改变。功能连接研究报告称，与足月对照相比，早产儿、儿童和青少年在静息状态和基于任务的连接方面都存在改变。综上所述，这些数据表明，早产可能导致神经发育障碍，表现为神经连接疾病。
