The effect of preterm birth on thalamic development based on shape and structural covariance analysis
Hongzhuang Li,
Mengting Liu,
Jianfeng Zhang,
Shujuan Liu,
Zhicong Fang,
Minmin Pan,
Xiaodan Sui,
Wei Rang,
Hang Xiao,
Yanyun Jiang,
Yuanjie Zheng,
Xinting Ge
Affiliations
Hongzhuang Li
School of Information Science and Engineering, Shandong Normal University, Shandong, China
Mengting Liu
School of Biomedical Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, China
Jianfeng Zhang
School of Information Science and Engineering, Shandong Normal University, Shandong, China
Shujuan Liu
School of Information Science and Engineering, Shandong Normal University, Shandong, China
Zhicong Fang
School of Information Science and Engineering, Shandong Normal University, Shandong, China
Minmin Pan
School of Information Science and Engineering, Shandong Normal University, Shandong, China
Xiaodan Sui
School of Information Science and Engineering, Shandong Normal University, Shandong, China
Wei Rang
School of Information Science and Engineering, Shandong Normal University, Shandong, China
Hang Xiao
School of Information Science and Engineering, Shandong Normal University, Shandong, China
Yanyun Jiang
School of Information Science and Engineering, Shandong Normal University, Shandong, China
Yuanjie Zheng
School of Information Science and Engineering, Shandong Normal University, Shandong, China; Corresponding authors at: School of Information Science and Engineering, Shandong Normal University, NO.1 Daxue Road, Jinan, Shandong Province, 250358, China.
Xinting Ge
School of Information Science and Engineering, Shandong Normal University, Shandong, China; Corresponding authors at: School of Information Science and Engineering, Shandong Normal University, NO.1 Daxue Road, Jinan, Shandong Province, 250358, China.
Acting as a central hub in regulating brain functions, the thalamus plays a pivotal role in controlling high-order brain functions. Considering the impact of preterm birth on infant brain development, traditional studies focused on the overall development of thalamus other than its subregions. In this study, we compared the volumetric growth and shape development of the thalamic hemispheres between the infants born preterm and full-term (Left volume: P = 0.027, Left normalized volume: P < 0.0001; Right volume: P = 0.070, Right normalized volume: P < 0.0001). The ventral nucleus region, dorsomedial nucleus region, and posterior nucleus region of the thalamus exhibit higher vulnerability to alterations induced by preterm birth. The structural covariance (SC) between the thickness of thalamus and insula in preterm infants (Left: corrected P = 0.0091, Right: corrected P = 0.0119) showed significant increase as compared to full-term controls. Current findings suggest that preterm birth affects the development of the thalamus and has differential effects on its subregions. The ventral nucleus region, dorsomedial nucleus region, and posterior nucleus region of the thalamus are more susceptible to the impacts of preterm birth.
