title: Weak functional connectivity in the human fetal brain prior to preterm birth.
abstract: It has been suggested that neurological problems more frequent in those born preterm are expressed prior to birth, but owing to technical limitations, this has been difficult to test in humans. We applied novel fetal resting-state functional MRI to measure brain function in 32 human fetuses in utero and found that systems-level neural functional connectivity was diminished in fetuses that would subsequently be born preterm. Neural connectivity was reduced in a left-hemisphere pre-language region, and the degree to which connectivity of this left language region extended to right-hemisphere homologs was positively associated with the time elapsed between fMRI assessment and delivery. These results provide the first evidence that altered functional connectivity in the preterm brain is identifiable before birth. They suggest that neurodevelopmental disorders associated with preterm birth may result from neurological insults that begin in utero.
authors.affiliation: Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute for Child and Family Development, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA.|Department of Pediatrics, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI 48202, USA.|Perinatology Research Branch, NICHD/NIH/DHHS, Detroit, Michigan, and Bethesda, Maryland, USA.|Institute for Social Research, Survey Research Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, USA.
authors.forename: Moriah E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Thomason
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology &Biomedical Imaging, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
authors.forename: Dustin
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Scheinost
authors.affiliation: Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute for Child and Family Development, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA.|Perinatology Research Branch, NICHD/NIH/DHHS, Detroit, Michigan, and Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Janessa H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Manning
authors.affiliation: Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute for Child and Family Development, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA.|Perinatology Research Branch, NICHD/NIH/DHHS, Detroit, Michigan, and Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Lauren E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Grove
authors.affiliation: Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute for Child and Family Development, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA.
authors.forename: Jasmine
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hect
authors.affiliation: Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute for Child and Family Development, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA.|Perinatology Research Branch, NICHD/NIH/DHHS, Detroit, Michigan, and Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Narcis
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Marshall
authors.affiliation: Perinatology Research Branch, NICHD/NIH/DHHS, Detroit, Michigan, and Bethesda, Maryland, USA.|Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI 48202, USA.
authors.forename: Edgar
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hernandez-Andrade
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI 48202, USA.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Berman
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI 48202, USA.|Perinatology Research Branch, NICHD/NIH/DHHS, Detroit, Michigan, and Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Athina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pappas
authors.affiliation: Perinatology Research Branch, NICHD/NIH/DHHS, Detroit, Michigan, and Bethesda, Maryland, USA.|Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI 48202, USA.
authors.forename: Lami
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yeo
authors.affiliation: Perinatology Research Branch, NICHD/NIH/DHHS, Detroit, Michigan, and Bethesda, Maryland, USA.|Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI 48202, USA.
authors.forename: Sonia S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Hassan
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology &Biomedical Imaging, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.|Department of Neurosurgery, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
authors.forename: R Todd
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Constable
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.|Department of Neurology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
authors.forename: Laura R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Ment
authors.affiliation: Perinatology Research Branch, NICHD/NIH/DHHS, Detroit, Michigan, and Bethesda, Maryland, USA.|Center for Molecular Medicine, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA.|Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Michigan School of Medicine, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, USA.|Department of Epidemiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48825, USA.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Romero
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000196:embryology* / Q000502:physiology*; D063132:Connectome; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D047928:Premature Birth