Gemma B. Northam|F Liégeois|Jacques?Donald Tournier|L Croft|Paul Johns|W.K. Chong|John Wyatt|Torsten Baldeweg
Interhemispheric temporal lobe connectivity predicts language impairment in adolescents born preterm
Great Ormond Street Hospital|University College London|Great Ormond Street Hospital|University College London|Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health|Great Ormond Street Hospital|University College London|St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust|St George's, University of London|Great Ormond Street Hospital|University College London|Great Ormond Street Hospital|University College London
although language difficulties common children born prematurely robust neuroanatomical correlates impairments remain established study investigated whether greater prevalence language problems preterm versus termborn children might reflect injury major intra interhemispheric white matter pathways connecting frontal temporal language regions investigate performed comprehensive assessment language academic abilities group adolescents born prematurely evidence brain injury birth n 50 mean age 16 years mean gestational age 27 weeks compared termborn control group n 30 detailed structural magnetic resonance imaging diffusiontractography analyses intrahemispheric interhemispheric white matter bundles performed analysis intrahemispheric pathways included arcuate fasciculus dorsal language pathway uncinate fasciculusextreme capsule ventral language pathway analysis interhemispheric pathways particular connections temporal lobes included two major commissural bundles corpus callosum anterior commissure found language impairment 38 adolescents born preterm language impairment related abnormalities arcuate fasciculus subsegments associated bilateral volume reductions ventral language pathway however significant volume reduction detected posterior corpus callosum splenium contains interhemispheric connections occipital parietal temporal lobes diffusion tractography showed three groups interhemispheric fibres within splenium connecting temporal lobes reduced crucially found language impairment detectable anterior commissure second temporal lobe commissural pathway also small regression analyses showed combination anatomical measures temporal interhemispheric connectivity splenium corpus callosum anterior commissure explained 57 variance language abilities supports recent theories emphasizing importance interhemispheric connections language particularly developing brain