Exploring the relationship between maternal prenatal stress and brain structure in premature neonates.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Exposure to maternal stress in utero is associated with a range of adverse outcomes. We previously observed an association between maternal stress and white matter microstructure in a sample of infants born prematurely. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between maternal trait anxiety, stressful life events and brain volumes.

Methods

221 infants (114 males, 107 females) born prematurely (median gestational age = 30.43 weeks [range 23.57-32.86]) underwent magnetic resonance imaging around term-equivalent age (mean = 42.20 weeks, SD = 1.60). Brain volumes were extracted for the following regions of interest: frontal lobe, temporal lobe, amygdala, hippocampus, thalamus and normalized to total brain volume. Multiple linear regressions were conduct

SUBMITTER: Lautarescu A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8059832 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature