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Functional Connectivity Markers of Prematurity at Birth Predict Neurodevelopmental Outcomes at 6, 12, 24, and 36 Months

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Title: Functional Connectivity Markers of Prematurity at Birth Predict Neurodevelopmental Outcomes at 6, 12, 24, and 36 Months
Language: English
Authors: Matteo Canini (ORCID 0000-0002-9601-1534), Cristina Cara (ORCID 0000-0002-0494-5867), Claudia Oprandi (ORCID 0009-0007-4263-1758), Ana Katušić (ORCID 0000-0002-7648-131X), Iris Žunić Išasegi (ORCID 0000-0003-0282-003X), Antonio Messina (ORCID 0000-0002-3606-997X), Alberto Andrea Zambon (ORCID 0000-0002-6539-5360), Nicolò Pecco (ORCID 0000-0002-6367-7903), Sarah Barni (ORCID 0000-0003-4782-3306), Antonella Poloniato (ORCID 0009-0005-8353-4474), Maria Grazia Natali Sora (ORCID 0000-0002-4298-6619), Monica Falautano, Paola Scifo (ORCID 0000-0001-5135-8086), Graziano Barera, Marco Tettamanti (ORCID 0000-0003-3039-1500), Andrea Falini (ORCID 0000-0002-1461-8755), Cristina Baldoli (ORCID 0000-0003-2697-5132), Pasquale Anthony Della Rosa (ORCID 0000-0002-3137-1731)
Source: International Journal of Behavioral Development. 2026 50(2):151-166.
Availability: SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 16
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Premature Infants, Infants, Toddlers, Child Development, Brain Hemisphere Functions, Predictor Variables, Diagnostic Tests, Cognitive Development, Language Acquisition, Social Development, Emotional Development, Pregnancy, Body Weight, Risk, Executive Function
Assessment and Survey Identifiers: Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development
DOI: 10.1177/01650254241312136
ISSN: 0165-0254
1464-0651
Abstract: In the field of developmental neuropsychology, interesting patterns of association between functional brain development at birth and neurodevelopmental outcomes during early childhood have been recently highlighted. In this work, we investigated a population of preterm neonates (n = 32) and (1) derived perinatal functional connectivity (p-FC) markers of prematurity, through direct comparison with a group of at-term borns and (2) tested the role of these markers as predictors of cognitive (COG), language (LANG), and socioemotional (SE) outcomes measured at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months. We did this by means of regression models in which functional markers were tested as predictors, after accounting for variability captured by metrics derived from current clinical practice and which were previously reported to be associated with a higher risk for adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes (i.e., pregnancy, perinatal weight and physiological conditions, and structural brain development variability). Our results revealed that (1) p-FC between the bilateral cerebellar hemispheres predicted SE outcomes at 6 months; (2) p-FC between the bilateral visual cortices predicted COG outcomes at 12 months; (3) p-FC between cortices related to language and emotional control predicted SE outcomes at 12 months; (4 and 5) p-FC between somatosensory motor and higher-order control cortices predicted LANG outcomes at 24 months and COG outcomes at 36 months; and (6 and 7) p-FC between language-related cortices predicted SE and COG outcomes at 36 months. Linear mixed model analyses with pattern mixture modeling, performed to comprehensively explore the longitudinal impact of significant perinatal functional predictors, demonstrated the importance of specific perinatal functional predictors of global neurodevelopment over time. We discuss our results by suggesting that perinatal functional imaging of the brain at rest could represent a very valuable and unique addition to current preterm clinical care routines, to improve pediatric clinical practices of the near future.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1500030
Database: ERIC
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  Data: Functional Connectivity Markers of Prematurity at Birth Predict Neurodevelopmental Outcomes at 6, 12, 24, and 36 Months
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Matteo+Canini%22">Matteo Canini</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9601-1534">0000-0002-9601-1534</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Cristina+Cara%22">Cristina Cara</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0494-5867">0000-0002-0494-5867</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Claudia+Oprandi%22">Claudia Oprandi</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0009-0007-4263-1758">0009-0007-4263-1758</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ana+Katušić%22">Ana Katušić</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7648-131X">0000-0002-7648-131X</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Iris+Žunić+Išasegi%22">Iris Žunić Išasegi</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0282-003X">0000-0003-0282-003X</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Antonio+Messina%22">Antonio Messina</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3606-997X">0000-0002-3606-997X</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Alberto+Andrea+Zambon%22">Alberto Andrea Zambon</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6539-5360">0000-0002-6539-5360</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Nicolò+Pecco%22">Nicolò Pecco</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6367-7903">0000-0002-6367-7903</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sarah+Barni%22">Sarah Barni</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4782-3306">0000-0003-4782-3306</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Antonella+Poloniato%22">Antonella Poloniato</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0009-0005-8353-4474">0009-0005-8353-4474</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Maria+Grazia+Natali+Sora%22">Maria Grazia Natali Sora</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4298-6619">0000-0002-4298-6619</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Monica+Falautano%22">Monica Falautano</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Paola+Scifo%22">Paola Scifo</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5135-8086">0000-0001-5135-8086</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Graziano+Barera%22">Graziano Barera</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Marco+Tettamanti%22">Marco Tettamanti</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3039-1500">0000-0003-3039-1500</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Andrea+Falini%22">Andrea Falini</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1461-8755">0000-0002-1461-8755</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Cristina+Baldoli%22">Cristina Baldoli</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2697-5132">0000-0003-2697-5132</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Pasquale+Anthony+Della+Rosa%22">Pasquale Anthony Della Rosa</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3137-1731">0000-0002-3137-1731</externalLink>)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22International+Journal+of+Behavioral+Development%22"><i>International Journal of Behavioral Development</i></searchLink>. 2026 50(2):151-166.
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  Data: SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
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  Data: 16
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  Data: 2026
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  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
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  Label: Descriptors
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Premature+Infants%22">Premature Infants</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Infants%22">Infants</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Toddlers%22">Toddlers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Child+Development%22">Child Development</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Brain+Hemisphere+Functions%22">Brain Hemisphere Functions</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Predictor+Variables%22">Predictor Variables</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Diagnostic+Tests%22">Diagnostic Tests</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cognitive+Development%22">Cognitive Development</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Language+Acquisition%22">Language Acquisition</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+Development%22">Social Development</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Emotional+Development%22">Emotional Development</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Pregnancy%22">Pregnancy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Body+Weight%22">Body Weight</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Risk%22">Risk</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Executive+Function%22">Executive Function</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SU" term="%22Bayley+Scales+of+Infant+and+Toddler+Development%22">Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development</searchLink>
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  Data: 10.1177/01650254241312136
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  Data: 0165-0254<br />1464-0651
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  Label: Abstract
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  Data: In the field of developmental neuropsychology, interesting patterns of association between functional brain development at birth and neurodevelopmental outcomes during early childhood have been recently highlighted. In this work, we investigated a population of preterm neonates (n = 32) and (1) derived perinatal functional connectivity (p-FC) markers of prematurity, through direct comparison with a group of at-term borns and (2) tested the role of these markers as predictors of cognitive (COG), language (LANG), and socioemotional (SE) outcomes measured at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months. We did this by means of regression models in which functional markers were tested as predictors, after accounting for variability captured by metrics derived from current clinical practice and which were previously reported to be associated with a higher risk for adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes (i.e., pregnancy, perinatal weight and physiological conditions, and structural brain development variability). Our results revealed that (1) p-FC between the bilateral cerebellar hemispheres predicted SE outcomes at 6 months; (2) p-FC between the bilateral visual cortices predicted COG outcomes at 12 months; (3) p-FC between cortices related to language and emotional control predicted SE outcomes at 12 months; (4 and 5) p-FC between somatosensory motor and higher-order control cortices predicted LANG outcomes at 24 months and COG outcomes at 36 months; and (6 and 7) p-FC between language-related cortices predicted SE and COG outcomes at 36 months. Linear mixed model analyses with pattern mixture modeling, performed to comprehensively explore the longitudinal impact of significant perinatal functional predictors, demonstrated the importance of specific perinatal functional predictors of global neurodevelopment over time. We discuss our results by suggesting that perinatal functional imaging of the brain at rest could represent a very valuable and unique addition to current preterm clinical care routines, to improve pediatric clinical practices of the near future.
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