| Title: |
Thalamic connectivity topography in newborns with spina bifida: association with neurological functional level but not developmental outcome at 2 years |
| Authors: |
Ji, Hui; Payette, Kelly; Speckert, Anna; Tuura, Ruth; Grehten, Patrice; Kottke, Raimund; Ochseinbein-Kölble, Nicole; Hagmann, Cornelia; Mazzone, Luca; Meuli, Martin; Padden, Beth; Hackenberg, Annette; Wille, David-Alexander; Moehrlen, Ueli; Latal, Beatrice; Spina Bifida Study Group Zurich; Jakab, Andras |
| Source: |
Ji, Hui; Payette, Kelly; Speckert, Anna; Tuura, Ruth; Grehten, Patrice; Kottke, Raimund; Ochseinbein-Kölble, Nicole; Hagmann, Cornelia; Mazzone, Luca; Meuli, Martin; Padden, Beth; Hackenberg, Annette; Wille, David-Alexander; Moehrlen, Ueli; Latal, Beatrice; Spina Bifida Study Group Zurich; Jakab, Andras (2024). Thalamic connectivity topography in newborns with spina bifida: association with neurological functional level but not developmental outcome at 2 years. Cerebral Cortex, 34(1):bhad438. |
| Publisher Information: |
Oxford University Press |
| Publication Year: |
2024 |
| Collection: |
University of Zurich (UZH): ZORA (Zurich Open Repository and Archive |
| Subject Terms: |
Medical Clinic; Clinic for Surgery; Adaptive Brain Circuits in Development and Learning (AdaBD); 610 Medicine & health; brain connectivity; diffusion tensor MRI; motor function; prenatal surgical repair; spina bifida newborns |
| Description: |
Spina bifida affects spinal cord and cerebral development, leading to motor and cognitive delay. We investigated whether there are associations between thalamocortical connectivity topography, neurological function, and developmental outcomes in open spina bifida. Diffusion tensor MRI was used to assess thalamocortical connectivity in 44 newborns with open spina bifida who underwent prenatal surgical repair. We quantified the volume of clusters formed based on the strongest probabilistic connectivity to the frontal, parietal, and temporal cortex. Developmental outcomes were assessed using the Bayley III Scales, while the functional level of the lesion was assessed by neurological examination at 2 years of age. Higher functional level was associated with smaller thalamo-parietal, while lower functional level was associated with smaller thalamo-temporal connectivity clusters (Bonferroni-corrected P < 0.05). Lower functional levels were associated with weaker thalamic temporal connectivity, particularly in the ventrolateral and ventral anterior nuclei. No associations were found between thalamocortical connectivity and developmental outcomes. Our findings suggest that altered thalamocortical circuitry development in open spina bifida may contribute to impaired lower extremity function, impacting motor function and independent ambulation. We hypothesize that the neurologic function might not merely be caused by the spinal cord lesion, but further impacted by the disruption of cerebral neuronal circuitry. |
| Document Type: |
article in journal/newspaper |
| File Description: |
application/pdf |
| Language: |
English |
| ISSN: |
1047-3211 |
| Relation: |
https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/239104/1/Thalamic_bhad438.pdf; info:pmid/37991274; urn:issn:1047-3211 |
| DOI: |
10.1093/cercor/bhad438 |
| Availability: |
https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/239104/; https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/239104/1/Thalamic_bhad438.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhad438 |
| Rights: |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess ; Creative Commons: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) ; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.404A5DCE |
| Database: |
BASE |