Barnes-Davis Maria E, Fujiwara Hisako, Drury Georgina, Merhar Stephanie L, Parikh Nehal A, Kadis Darren S
Perinatal Institute, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA.
Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA.
Brain Sci. 2021 Sep 26;11(10):1271. doi: 10.3390/brainsci11101271.
Extreme prematurity (EPT, <28 weeks gestation) is associated with language problems. We previously reported hyperconnectivity in EPT children versus term children (TC) using magnetoencephalography (MEG). Here, we aim to ascertain whether functional hyperconnectivity is a marker of language resiliency for EPT children, validating our earlier work with a distinct sample of contemporary well-performing EPT and preterm children with history of language delay (EPT-HLD). A total of 58 children (17 EPT, 9 EPT-HLD, and 32 TC) participated in stories listening during MEG and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) at 4-6 years. We compared connectivity in EPT and EPT-HLD, investigating relationships with language over time. We measured fMRI activation during stories listening and parcellated the activation map to obtain "nodes" for MEG connectivity analysis. There were no significant group differences in age, sex, race, ethnicity, parental education, income, language scores, or language representation on fMRI. MEG functional connectivity (weighted phase lag index) was significantly different between groups. Preterm children had increased connectivity, replicating our earlier work. EPT and EPT-HLD had hyperconnectivity versus TC at 24-26 Hz, with EPT-HLD exhibiting greatest connectivity. Network strength correlated with change in standardized scores from 2 years to 4-6 years of age, suggesting hyperconnectivity is a marker of advancing language development.
极早早产（EPT，妊娠<28周）与语言问题相关。我们之前使用脑磁图（MEG）报告了EPT儿童与足月儿（TC）相比存在功能连接增强。在此，我们旨在确定功能连接增强是否是EPT儿童语言恢复力的一个标志，通过当代表现良好的EPT儿童和有语言延迟病史的早产儿（EPT-HLD）的不同样本验证我们早期的研究。共有58名儿童（17名EPT儿童、9名EPT-HLD儿童和32名TC儿童）在4至6岁时参与了MEG和功能磁共振成像（fMRI）下的故事聆听。我们比较了EPT儿童和EPT-HLD儿童的连接性，研究其随时间与语言的关系。我们在故事聆听期间测量fMRI激活情况，并对激活图进行分割以获得用于MEG连接性分析的“节点”。在年龄、性别、种族、民族、父母教育程度、收入、语言分数或fMRI上的语言表征方面，各组之间没有显著差异。MEG功能连接性（加权相位滞后指数）在各组之间存在显著差异。早产儿的连接性增加，重复了我们早期的研究结果。EPT儿童和EPT-HLD儿童在24 - 26赫兹时与TC儿童相比存在功能连接增强，其中EPT-HLD儿童的连接性最强。网络强度与2岁至4 - 6岁标准化分数的变化相关，表明功能连接增强是语言发展进步的一个标志。
