PNAS：早产婴儿的丘脑连接性

    我们研究得知在出生的时候人类丘脑和大脑皮层的功能连接是正常。我们发现丘脑的功能分割传送成熟正好是在成人的事情。然而,尽管初级皮层区域几乎完全是连接到特定的丘脑区域。多模态脑区皮层更广泛连接到多个丘脑区域。给这些脑组织信号/电回路的提供潜在的综合作用。母亲在怀孕时候的生活也对孩子的发育进行了提前的影响调节。造成了与连接到初级感觉皮层增加，减少了丘脑和多模态脑区皮层的连接，而这部分连接是支持更高的认知功能的。这一项关于66名婴儿的研究中，有47名婴儿在妊娠33周之前出生。该研究发现婴儿在丘脑与大脑皮层之间有成熟的功能连接，与足月出生的婴儿相比，经历过早的子宫外生活可能增加丘脑与大脑初级感觉皮层区域之间的连接性，而且可能减少丘脑与执行功能以及认知功能相关网络之间的连接性，这可能解释早产婴儿面临的一些挑战。

    原文链接：

    Specialization and integration of functional thalamocortical connectivity in the human infant

    原文摘要：Connections between the thalamus and cortex develop rapidly before birth, and aberrant cerebral maturation during this period may underlie a number of neurodevelopmental disorders. To define functional thalamocortical connectivity at the normal time of birth, we used functional MRI (fMRI) to measure blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signals in 66 infants, 47 of whom were at high risk of neurocognitive impairment because of birth before 33 wk of gestation and 19 of whom were term infants. We segmented the thalamus based on correlation with functionally defined cortical components using independent component analysis (ICA) and seed-based correlations. After parCellating the cortex using ICA and segmenting the thalamus based on dominant connections with cortical parcellations, we observed a near-facsimile of the adult functional parcellation. Additional analysis revealed that BOLD signal in heteromodal association cortex typically had more widespread and overlapping thalamic representations than primary sensory cortex. Notably, more extreme prematurity was associated with increased functional connectivity between thalamus and lateral primary sensory cortex but reduced connectivity between thalamus and cortex in the prefrontal, insular and anterior cingulate regions. This work suggests that, in early infancy, functional integration through thalamocortical connections depends on significant functional overlap in the topographic organization of the thalamus and that the experience of premature extrauterine Life modulates network development, altering the maturation of networks thought to support salience, executive, integrative, and cognitive functions.