Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41275946›Full record

ArticleNeuroImage2025

Altered neurobehavioral white matter integrity in preterm children: A confounding-controlled analysis using the adolescent brain and cognitive development (ABCD) study.

Hailong Li, Yuwen Hung, Junqi Wang, Nicole Rudberg, Nehal A Parikh, Lili He

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in NeuroImage, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Hailong LiImaging Research Center, Department of Radiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA; Neurodevelopmental Disorders Prevention Center, Perinatal Institute, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA; Department of Radiology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
Yuwen HungImaging Research Center, Department of Radiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA; Neurodevelopmental Disorders Prevention Center, Perinatal Institute, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA; Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Harvard-MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Junqi WangImaging Research Center, Department of Radiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA; Neurodevelopmental Disorders Prevention Center, Perinatal Institute, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
Nicole RudbergAthinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Harvard-MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Nehal A ParikhNeurodevelopmental Disorders Prevention Center, Perinatal Institute, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA; Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
Lili HeImaging Research Center, Department of Radiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA; Neurodevelopmental Disorders Prevention Center, Perinatal Institute, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA; Department of Radiology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA; Department of Computer Science, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Department of Biomedical Informatics, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA. Electronic address: Lili.He@cchmc.org.

Funding

A New Model to Identify Preterm Neonates at High-Risk for Cognitive Impairments and School ReadinessR01NS094200 · CINCINNATI CHILDRENS HOSP MED CTR · 2025 to 2025
$818k
NIBIB NIH HHS R01 EB029944NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS094200NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS096037
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionChildren born preterm face elevated risks of atypical brain development and neurodevelopmental difficulties. However, little is known about childhood outcomes specifically associated with premature birth that are unconfounded by medical complications. This study takes a systematic approach to examine neural and behavioral outcomes in non-medically complex preterm children. The aim is to identify unconfounded neurobehavioral biomarkers and mechanisms that contribute to childhood vulnerability following premature birth, ultimately informing the development of effective interventions to mitigate adverse outcomes in this population.

methodsThis study leverages the largest publicly available prospective dataset on child brain health in the U.S.-the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study-using a case-control design. Applying rigorous, systematic confounding control procedures, the study includes 612 children aged 9-11 who have been free of medical and developmental complications since birth. The cohort comprises 306 children born preterm and 306 full-term children matched for age, sex, and socioeconomic status. A comprehensive range of neurocognitive outcomes is examined in relation to the integrity of brain connectomes, as measured by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI).

resultsPreterm children and full-term control children are significantly differentiated by altered microstructural and axonal integrity, in major frontal-limbic tracts in the whole brain (p < .05). In particular, the strength of structural connectivity in the anterior thalamic radiation, which connects the frontal lobe and the thalamic sensory relay circuit, shows altered brain-behavioral regulatory relationship with the performance on the attention and processing speed task (p < .05).

conclusionThis secondary analysis of the ABCD Study identified unconfounded neurobehavioral risk biomarkers associated with premature birth, along with underlying neurobiological and cognitive mechanisms. Children born preterm demonstrated reduced neurobehavioral white matter integrity within the frontal-limbic connectome, particularly in tasks requiring sustained attention and processing speed. This diminished adaptability places them at elevated risk for developing related neurodevelopmental difficulties. These findings highlight the urgent need for routine screening and preventive neuro-rehabilitative interventions-such as attention-focused and sensory-feedback-based training-for preterm-born populations.

Indexed as

BrainCognitionInfant, PrematureWhite MatterAdolescentCase-Control StudiesChildConnectomeDiffusion Tensor ImagingFemaleHumansInfant, NewbornMaleDiffusion tensor imagingPreterm childrenWhite matter integrity

Identifiers

PMID41275946
PMCPMC12712894

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.