早产儿与足月儿早期静息态脑功能连接特征:一项功能性近红外光谱技术的探索性研究OA

Objective To compare resting-state brain functional connectivity among neonates of different gestational ages using functional near-infrared spectroscopy(fNIRS).Methods Forty hospitalized neonates were enrolled and categorized by gestational age into very preterm(n=10),moderate-to-late preterm(n=10),and full-term(n=20)groups.At a corrected gestational age of(40±4)weeks,resting-state whole-brain oxygenation signals were acquired with fNIRS.The frontal,parietal,and temporal lobes were defined as regions of interest(ROI).Functional connectivity strength was calculated,and between-group comparisons were performed at both the whole-brain and ROI levels.Results At the whole-brain level,the mean functional connectivity strength in preterm infants was significantly lower than that in full-term infants(0.55±0.20 vs 0.68±0.16,P=0.030).Subgroup analysis showed the lowest connectivity strength in the very preterm group(0.46±0.19),significantly lower than in the moderate-to-late preterm group(0.64±0.19,P=0.030)and the full-term group(0.68±0.16,P<0.01).At the ROI level,the very preterm group exhibited significantly reduced connectivity relative to the full-term group across multiple key connections,including left frontal-right frontal,left temporal-right frontal,bilateral frontal-bilateral parietal(both ipsilateral and contralateral),and left parietal-right parietal connections(all P<0.05).Conclusions Preterm birth exerts a gestational age-dependent gradient effect on resting-state brain functional connectivity,with smaller gestational age associated with more pronounced reductions.Very preterm neonates show widespread decreases in connectivity at the whole-brain level and between key cortical regions.