Individual functional brain maps in 419 neonates predicted outcomes at 18 months (dHCP data)
Analysis of Developing Human Connectome Project imaging showed individualized functional topography already present at birth, with preterm infants differing in association networks.
A team analysing multimodal neuroimaging data from the Developing Human Connectome Project reported personalized maps of functional topography in 419 infants, 367 born at term and 52 born preterm, in Nature Communications nature.com
Nature Communicationsnature.comOpen source ↗. The authors then tested whether these maps predict neurocognitive outcomes at 18 months.
According to the authors, typical functional topographies are present at birth, and interindividual variability is organized along a sensorimotor-to-association hierarchy. The individualized maps encode early brain maturity and predict cognitive, language and motor outcomes in early childhood. The most predictive features lie at the boundaries of sensorimotor networks.
The functional refinement is structurally anchored by concurrent maturation of cortical myelination and sulcal depth. Preterm birth is associated with topographic alterations, featuring atypical maturation of association networks. The authors describe the work as a framework for precision modelling of early brain development and its influence on long-term cognitive trajectories.
