Mapping the neuroanatomical impact of very preterm birth across childhood

Those born very preterm (VPT; <32 weeks gestational age) have an increased risk in developing a wide range of cognitive deficits. In early‐to‐late childhood, brain structure has been shown to be altered in VPT compared to full‐term (FT) children; however, the results are inconsistent. The current study examined subcortical volumes, cortical thickness, and surface area in a large cohort of VPT and FT children aged 4–12 years. Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was obtained on 120 VPT and 146 FT children who returned up to three times, resulting in 176 VPT and 173 FT unique data points. For each participant, Corticometric Iterative Vertex‐based Estimation of Thickness was used to obtain global measurements of total brain, cortical grey and cortical white matter volumes, along with surface‐based measurements of cortical thickness and surface area, and Multiple Automatically Generated Templates (MAGeT) brain segmentation tool was used to segment the subcortical structures. To examine group differences and group–age interactions, mixed‐effects models were used (controlling for whole‐brain volume). We found few differences between the two groups in subcortical volumes. The VPT children showed increased cortical thickness in frontal, occipital and fusiform gyri and inferior pre–post–central areas, while thinning occurred in the midcingulate. Cortical thickness in occipital regions showed more rapid decreases with age in the VPT compared to the FT children. VPT children also showed both regional increases, particularly in the temporal lobe, and decreases in surface area. Our results indicate a delayed maturational trajectory in those born VPT.