Early life brain network connectivity antecedents of executive function in children born preterm.

ABSTRACT: Preterm birth is associated with an increased risk of executive function (EF) deficits, yet the underlying neural mechanisms remain unclear. We combine diffusion MRI, resting-state functional MRI, and graph theory analyses to examine how structural (SC) and functional connectivity (FC) at term-equivalent age (TEA) influence EF outcomes at 3 years corrected age in children born at or below 32 weeks' gestation. Here we show shorter average path length (a measure of efficient structural communication) in the insula is linked to better EF performance, implying that more direct structural pathways in this region facilitate critical cognitive processes. Additionally, higher betweenness centrality (a node-level metric of information flow) in parietal and superior temporal regions is associated wi

SUBMITTER: Derbie AY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11873160 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature