title: Rich-club organization of the newborn human brain.
abstract: Combining diffusion magnetic resonance imaging and network analysis in the adult human brain has identified a set of highly connected cortical hubs that form a "rich club"--a high-cost, high-capacity backbone thought to enable efficient network communication. Rich-club architecture appears to be a persistent feature of the mature mammalian brain, but it is not known when this structure emerges during human development. In this longitudinal study we chart the emergence of structural organization in mid to late gestation. We demonstrate that a rich club of interconnected cortical hubs is already present by 30 wk gestation. Subsequently, until the time of normal birth, the principal development is a proliferation of connections between core hubs and the rest of the brain. We also consider the impact of environmental factors on early network development, and compare term-born neonates to preterm infants at term-equivalent age. Though rich-club organization remains intact following premature birth, we reveal significant disruptions in both in cortical-subcortical connectivity and short-distance corticocortical connections. Rich club organization is present well before the normal time of birth and may provide the fundamental structural architecture for the subsequent emergence of complex neurological functions. Premature exposure to the extrauterine environment is associated with altered network architecture and reduced network capacity, which may in part account for the high prevalence of cognitive problems in preterm infants.
authors.affiliation: Centre for the Developing Brain, Division of Imaging Sciences and Bioengineering, King's College London, King's Health Partners, St Thomas' Hospital, London SE1 7EH, United Kingdom;
authors.forename: Gareth
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ball
authors.affiliation: Centre for the Developing Brain, Division of Imaging Sciences and Bioengineering, King's College London, King's Health Partners, St Thomas' Hospital, London SE1 7EH, United Kingdom; paul.aljabar@kcl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Aljabar
authors.affiliation: Centre for the Developing Brain, Division of Imaging Sciences and Bioengineering, King's College London, King's Health Partners, St Thomas' Hospital, London SE1 7EH, United Kingdom;
authors.forename: Sally
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zebari
authors.affiliation: Centre for the Developing Brain, Division of Imaging Sciences and Bioengineering, King's College London, King's Health Partners, St Thomas' Hospital, London SE1 7EH, United Kingdom;
authors.forename: Nora
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tusor
authors.affiliation: Centre for the Developing Brain, Division of Imaging Sciences and Bioengineering, King's College London, King's Health Partners, St Thomas' Hospital, London SE1 7EH, United Kingdom;
authors.forename: Tomoki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Arichi
authors.affiliation: Centre for the Developing Brain, Division of Imaging Sciences and Bioengineering, King's College London, King's Health Partners, St Thomas' Hospital, London SE1 7EH, United Kingdom;
authors.forename: Nazakat
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Merchant
authors.affiliation: Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain Group, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DU, United Kingdom;
authors.forename: Emma C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, Imperial College London, London SW10 9NH, United Kingdom; and.
authors.forename: Enitan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ogundipe
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Image Analysis Group, Department of Computing, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rueckert
authors.affiliation: Centre for the Developing Brain, Division of Imaging Sciences and Bioengineering, King's College London, King's Health Partners, St Thomas' Hospital, London SE1 7EH, United Kingdom;
authors.forename: A David
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Edwards
authors.affiliation: Centre for the Developing Brain, Division of Imaging Sciences and Bioengineering, King's College London, King's Health Partners, St Thomas' Hospital, London SE1 7EH, United Kingdom;
authors.forename: Serena J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Counsell
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000196:embryology* / Q000254:growth & development*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003071:Cognition; D063132:Connectome; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D008297:Male; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology*; D009434:Neural Pathways; D047928:Premature Birth; D047929:Term Birth; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: brain development; connectome; preterm birth; tractography