title: Reinforcement of the Brain's Rich-Club Architecture Following Early Neurodevelopmental Disruption Caused by Very Preterm Birth.
abstract: The second half of pregnancy is a crucial period for the development of structural brain connectivity, and an abrupt interruption of the typical processes of development during this phase caused by the very preterm birth (<33 weeks of gestation) is likely to result in long-lasting consequences. We used structural and diffusion imaging data to reconstruct the brain structural connectome in very preterm-born adults. We assessed its rich-club organization and modularity as 2 characteristics reflecting the capacity to support global and local information exchange, respectively. Our results suggest that the establishment of global connectivity patterns is prioritized over peripheral connectivity following early neurodevelopmental disruption. The very preterm brain exhibited a stronger rich-club architecture than the control brain, despite possessing a relative paucity of white matter resources. Using a simulated lesion approach, we also investigated whether putative structural reorganization takes place in the very preterm brain in order to compensate for its anatomical constraints. We found that connections between the basal ganglia and (pre-) motor regions, as well as connections between subcortical regions, assumed an altered role in the structural connectivity of the very preterm brain, and that such alterations had functional implications for information flow, rule learning, and verbal IQ.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience.
authors.forename: Vyacheslav R
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Karolis
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience.
authors.forename: Sean
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Froudist-Walsh
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience.
authors.forename: Philip J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Brittain
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience.
authors.forename: Jasmin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kroll
authors.affiliation: Centre for the Developing Brain, Division of Imaging Sciences & Biomedical Engineering.
authors.forename: Gareth
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ball
authors.affiliation: Centre for the Developing Brain, Division of Imaging Sciences & Biomedical Engineering.
authors.forename: A David
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Edwards
authors.affiliation: Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Flavio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dell'Acqua
authors.affiliation: Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Steven C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience.
authors.forename: Robin M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience Centre for the Developing Brain, Division of Imaging Sciences & Biomedical Engineering.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nosarti
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000473:pathology*; D003071:Cognition; D015331:Cohort Studies; D063132:Connectome; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000254:growth & development*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000254:growth & development / Q000473:pathology; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009929:Organ Size; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D066127:White Matter / Q000254:growth & development / Q000473:pathology
keywords: altered neurodevelopment; network reorganization; structural connectome; very preterm birth