Altered connectivity and network efficiency in preterm infants.

Authors

Karlo Stemberger, Domagoj Lasić, Nicolò Pecco, Matteo Canini, Ruža Grizelj, Tomislav Ćaleta, Miloš Judaš, Ivica Kostović, Marko Radoš, David Ozretić, Jelena Božek, Finn Lennartsson, Pasquale Anthony Della Rosa, Milan Radoš

Published in

Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991). Volume 36. Issue 10. Oct 05, 2026.

Abstract

Preterm birth is associated with altered maturation of large-scale functional brain networks during the neonatal period. Acquisition and preprocessing variability across neonatal resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) studies limits cross-site comparability and may obscure prematurity-related alterations. We combined rs-fMRI data from 90 local preterm infants scanned at term-equivalent age (TEA) with data from 160 infants in the Developing Human Connectome Project (100 term-born and 60 preterm) to evaluate cross-site harmonization and characterize edge-wise functional connectivity and network efficiency. Data were preprocessed using an identical pipeline in SPM and CONN toolbox, harmonized with neuroCombat, and analyzed using per-edge analysis of covariance for connectivity and linear mixed-effects models for graph efficiency. Harmonization substantially reduced site-related variance and improved cross-site comparability. Relative to term-born controls, preterm infants showed widespread edge-wise hypoconnectivity, with only limited focal hyperconnectivity. Graph-theoretical analysis revealed reduced local alongside modestly increased global network efficiency in preterm infants, whereas regional connection-class composition did not interact with group. These findings support the feasibility of harmonizing multi-site neonatal rs-fMRI data and suggest that prematurity at TEA is characterized by widespread functional hypoconnectivity and a shift in the balance between local network segregation and large-scale functional integration.

PMID:
42870548
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 14 Oct 2026.

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