Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Ave, MLC 7039, Cincinnati, OH 45229-3039, United States of America; University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, United States of America.
Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Ave, MLC 7039, Cincinnati, OH 45229-3039, United States of America.
Early Hum Dev. 2020 May;144:104985. doi: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2020.104985. Epub 2020 Mar 9.
Early temperament may mediate the association between brain abnormalities following preterm birth and neurodevelopmental outcomes.
This exploratory study investigated whether brain abnormalities in infants born very preterm predicted temperament.
Infants born prematurely underwent structural MRI at term. Mother self-reported depression symptoms at the scanning visit, and the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised-Short (IBQ-R-S) about their infant at 3-months corrected age.
Infants (n = 214) born at ≤32 weeks gestation (M = 29.29, SD = 2.60). Average post-menstrual age at the MRI scan was 42.72 weeks (SD = 1.30). The majority of the infants were male (n = 115), and Caucasian (n = 145) or African American (n = 58). The average birthweight in grams was 1289.75 (SD = 448.5).
Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised-Short (IBQ-R-S) subscales.
Multivariate regression showed white matter abnormalities predicted lower ratings on High Intensity Pleasure and Vocal Reactivity, grey matter abnormalities predicted lower ratings on High Intensity Pleasure and Cuddliness, and cerebellar abnormalities predicted lower ratings on Fear and Sadness IBQ-R-S subscales adjusting for gestational age and sex. The pattern of results was essentially unchanged when maternal depression and socioeconomic status were included in the model.
Early MRI-diagnosed brain abnormalities in infants born very preterm were associated less vocalization and engagement during cuddling, decreased ability to take pleasure in stimulating activities, and lower emotionality in fear and sadness domains. Although replication is warranted, an under-reactive temperament in infants born preterm may have a neurobiological basis.
早产婴儿的大脑异常可能会影响其神经发育结局，而早期气质可能在其中起到中介作用。
本探索性研究旨在调查极早产儿的大脑异常是否可以预测其气质。
早产儿在矫正胎龄 3 个月时进行结构 MRI 检查。母亲在扫描时报告抑郁症状，同时填写婴儿行为问卷修订版短表（IBQ-R-S）。
出生胎龄≤32 周的婴儿（M=29.29，SD=2.60）。MRI 扫描时的平均胎龄为 42.72 周（SD=1.30）。大多数婴儿为男性（n=115），为白种人（n=145）或非裔美国人（n=58）。平均出生体重为 1289.75 克（SD=448.5）。
婴儿行为问卷修订版短表（IBQ-R-S）的各分量表。
多变量回归显示，白质异常预测了高愉悦强度和发声反应评分较低，灰质异常预测了高愉悦强度和亲昵性评分较低，小脑异常预测了恐惧和悲伤 IBQ-R-S 分量表评分较低，在调整胎龄和性别后仍存在上述结果。当将母亲抑郁和社会经济地位纳入模型时，结果模式基本保持不变。
极早产儿出生时 MRI 诊断的大脑异常与较少的发声和拥抱时的互动、对刺激活动的愉悦能力降低以及恐惧和悲伤领域的情绪性降低有关。虽然需要进一步的研究，但早产儿出生后反应性较低的气质可能具有神经生物学基础。
