title: Quantitative fiber tracking of the optic radiation is correlated with visual-evoked potential amplitude in preterm infants.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Children born preterm are at risk for adverse outcome, including visual impairment. We examined the relationship between neonatal DTI and sVEP in children born preterm to determine whether visual outcomes are related to early measurements of brain microstructure.
  
  
  METHODS
  Subjects were born at <34 weeks gestation and imaged before term-equivalent age. DTI fiber tracking was used to delineate the optic radiations and measure tract-specific average FA, D(av), and parallel and transverse diffusivity. Visual-evoked response amplitudes were measured as a function of spatial frequency, contrast, and vernier offset size with sVEP at 6-20 months after birth. The association between DTI and sVEP was assessed by using the Spearman correlation coefficient and linear regression for repeated measures.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Nine children with 15 scans were included. The peak response amplitudes for spatial frequency sweeps were associated with increasing FA and decreasing D(av) and transverse diffusivity (P ≤ .006) but not with parallel diffusivity (P = 1). There was only modest association with the swept contrast condition and no detectable association with the vernier offset sweeps.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Microstructure of the optic radiations measured shortly after birth is associated with quantitatively measured responses elicited by moderate-to-high contrast spatiotemporal gratings in infancy. These findings are in keeping with studies showing a relationship between brain microstructure and function. While the clinical impact is not known, quantitative neuroimaging of white matter may ultimately be important for predicting outcome in preterm neonates.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University ofCalifornia, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA. Hannah.Glass@ucsf.edu
authors.forename: H C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Glass
authors.forename: J I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Berman
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Norcia
authors.forename: E E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Rogers
authors.forename: R G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Henry
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Barkovich
authors.forename: W V
authors.initials: WV
authors.lastname: Good
mesh_terms: D005074:Evoked Potentials, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009413:Nerve Fibers, Myelinated / Q000502:physiology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012307:Risk Factors; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000166:cytology* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology
references.citation: AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2003 Sep;24(8):1661-9
references.pmid: 13679289
references.citation: Dev Med Child Neurol. 2007 Oct;49(10):745-50
references.pmid: 17880643
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2003 Nov;20(3):1714-22
references.pmid: 14642481
references.citation: Pediatrics. 2006 Jan;117(1):168-83
references.pmid: 16396875
references.citation: J Pediatr. 2005 Nov;147(5):609-16
references.pmid: 16291350
references.citation: Pediatrics. 2007 Sep;120(3):e604-9
references.pmid: 17698966
references.citation: AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2003 Sep;24(8):1646-53
references.pmid: 13679287
references.citation: AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2009 Jan;30(1):120-4
references.pmid: 18832665
references.citation: Pediatr Res. 2006 Oct;60(4):435-9
references.pmid: 16940247
references.citation: NMR Biomed. 2002 Nov-Dec;15(7-8):435-55
references.pmid: 12489094
references.citation: J Magn Reson Imaging. 2002 Dec;16(6):621-32
references.pmid: 12451575
references.citation: AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2003 May;24(5):805-9
references.pmid: 12748075
references.citation: Vision Res. 1989;29(5):627-37
references.pmid: 2603399
references.citation: Brain. 2008 Feb;131(Pt 2):573-82
references.pmid: 18222994
references.citation: Semin Fetal Neonatal Med. 2006 Dec;11(6):489-97
references.pmid: 16962837
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2008 Feb 20;28(8):1943-8
references.pmid: 18287510
references.citation: Doc Ophthalmol. 2004 Mar;108(2):115-23
references.pmid: 15455794
references.citation: J Comput Assist Tomogr. 1998 Jan-Feb;22(1):139-52
references.pmid: 9448779
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2004 Jul;22(3):1302-14
references.pmid: 15219602
references.citation: Neuropediatrics. 1998 Jun;29(3):145-50
references.pmid: 9706625
references.citation: J Magn Reson B. 1996 Jun;111(3):209-19
references.pmid: 8661285
references.citation: Dev Med Child Neurol. 2004 Aug;46(8):526-32
references.pmid: 15287243
references.citation: Biometrics. 1988 Dec;44(4):1049-60
references.pmid: 3233245
references.citation: AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2001 Sep;22(8):1572-6
references.pmid: 11559509
references.citation: Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 1991 Feb;32(2):436-9
references.pmid: 1993597
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2005 Jun 22;25(25):5988-97
references.pmid: 15976088
references.citation: Dev Med Child Neurol. 2006 Jun;48(6):508-12
references.pmid: 16700945
references.citation: Vision Res. 1985;25(10):1399-408
references.pmid: 4090273
references.citation: Dev Neurosci. 2007;29(4-5):289-301
references.pmid: 17762197
references.citation: Pediatr Neurol. 1997 Nov;17(4):331-8
references.pmid: 9436798
references.citation: J Comput Assist Tomogr. 1998 Jan-Feb;22(1):153-65
references.pmid: 9448780
references.citation: Brain. 2008 Dec;131(Pt 12):3201-8
references.pmid: 18952670
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2005 Oct 1;27(4):862-71
references.pmid: 15978841
references.citation: Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 1999 Sep;40(10):2411-7
references.pmid: 10476810
references.citation: Neuroimaging Clin N Am. 2006 Feb;16(1):19-43, vii
references.pmid: 16543084
references.citation: J Magn Reson Imaging. 2005 Oct;22(4):467-74
references.pmid: 16161075
references.citation: AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 1996 May;17(5):979-85
references.pmid: 8733977
references.citation: Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol. 1983 Jul;56(1):1-15
references.pmid: 6190626