Neuroimaging young children and associations with neurocognitive development in a South African birth cohort study
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an indispensable tool for investigating brain development in young children and the neurobiological mechanisms underlying developmental risk and resilience. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest proportion of children at risk of developmental delay worldwide, yet in...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2020-10-01
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| Series: | NeuroImage |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811920303335 |
| _version_ | 1819175322702053376 |
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| author | Catherine J. Wedderburn Sivenesi Subramoney Shunmay Yeung Jean-Paul Fouche Shantanu H. Joshi Katherine L. Narr Andrea M. Rehman Annerine Roos Jonathan Ipser Frances C. Robertson Nynke A. Groenewold Diana M. Gibb Heather J. Zar Dan J. Stein Kirsten A. Donald |
| author_facet | Catherine J. Wedderburn Sivenesi Subramoney Shunmay Yeung Jean-Paul Fouche Shantanu H. Joshi Katherine L. Narr Andrea M. Rehman Annerine Roos Jonathan Ipser Frances C. Robertson Nynke A. Groenewold Diana M. Gibb Heather J. Zar Dan J. Stein Kirsten A. Donald |
| author_sort | Catherine J. Wedderburn |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an indispensable tool for investigating brain development in young children and the neurobiological mechanisms underlying developmental risk and resilience. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest proportion of children at risk of developmental delay worldwide, yet in this region there is very limited neuroimaging research focusing on the neurobiology of such impairment. Furthermore, paediatric MRI imaging is challenging in any setting due to motion sensitivity. Although sedation and anesthesia are routinely used in clinical practice to minimise movement in young children, this may not be ethical in the context of research. Our study aimed to investigate the feasibility of paediatric multimodal MRI at age 2–3 years without sedation, and to explore the relationship between cortical structure and neurocognitive development at this understudied age in a sub-Saharan African setting. A total of 239 children from the Drakenstein Child Health Study, a large observational South African birth cohort, were recruited for neuroimaging at 2–3 years of age. Scans were conducted during natural sleep utilising locally developed techniques. T1-MEMPRAGE and T2-weighted structural imaging, resting state functional MRI, diffusion tensor imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy sequences were included. Child neurodevelopment was assessed using the Bayley-III Scales of Infant and Toddler Development. Following 23 pilot scans, 216 children underwent scanning and T1-weighted images were obtained from 167/216 (77%) of children (median age 34.8 months). Furthermore, we found cortical surface area and thickness within frontal regions were associated with cognitive development, and in temporal and frontal regions with language development (beta coefficient ≥0.20). Overall, we demonstrate the feasibility of carrying out a neuroimaging study of young children during natural sleep in sub-Saharan Africa. Our findings indicate that dynamic morphological changes in heteromodal association regions are associated with cognitive and language development at this young age. These proof-of-concept analyses suggest similar links between the brain and cognition as prior literature from high income countries, enhancing understanding of the interplay between cortical structure and function during brain maturation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T20:53:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3508db70b6b340df8b89cce7e106cedf |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1095-9572 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T20:53:02Z |
| publishDate | 2020-10-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | NeuroImage |
| spelling | doaj.art-3508db70b6b340df8b89cce7e106cedf2022-12-21T18:13:02ZengElsevierNeuroImage1095-95722020-10-01219116846Neuroimaging young children and associations with neurocognitive development in a South African birth cohort studyCatherine J. Wedderburn0Sivenesi Subramoney1Shunmay Yeung2Jean-Paul Fouche3Shantanu H. Joshi4Katherine L. Narr5Andrea M. Rehman6Annerine Roos7Jonathan Ipser8Frances C. Robertson9Nynke A. Groenewold10Diana M. Gibb11Heather J. Zar12Dan J. Stein13Kirsten A. Donald14Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, University of Cape Town, South Africa; Department of Clinical Research, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK; Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, South Africa; Corresponding author. Department of Clinical Research, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, WC1E 7HT, United Kingdom.Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, University of Cape Town, South AfricaDepartment of Clinical Research, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UKDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Cape Town, South AfricaDepartments of Neurology, Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, CA, USADepartments of Neurology, Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, CA, USAMRC Tropical Epidemiology Group, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UKDepartment of Paediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, University of Cape Town, South Africa; Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, South Africa; SU/UCT MRC Unit on Risk and Resilience in Mental Disorders, Department of Psychiatry, Stellenbosch University, South AfricaNeuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, South Africa; Department of Psychiatry, University of Cape Town, South AfricaDivision of Biomedical Engineering, Department of Human Biology, University of Cape Town, South Africa; Cape Universities Brain Imaging Centre (CUBIC), Cape Town, South AfricaNeuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, South Africa; Department of Psychiatry, University of Cape Town, South AfricaMRC Clinical Trials Unit, University College, London, UKDepartment of Paediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, University of Cape Town, South Africa; SAMRC Unit on Child & Adolescent Health, University of Cape Town, South AfricaNeuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, South Africa; Department of Psychiatry, University of Cape Town, South Africa; SU/UCT MRC Unit on Risk and Resilience in Mental Disorders, University of Cape Town, South AfricaDepartment of Paediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, University of Cape Town, South Africa; Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, South AfricaMagnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an indispensable tool for investigating brain development in young children and the neurobiological mechanisms underlying developmental risk and resilience. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest proportion of children at risk of developmental delay worldwide, yet in this region there is very limited neuroimaging research focusing on the neurobiology of such impairment. Furthermore, paediatric MRI imaging is challenging in any setting due to motion sensitivity. Although sedation and anesthesia are routinely used in clinical practice to minimise movement in young children, this may not be ethical in the context of research. Our study aimed to investigate the feasibility of paediatric multimodal MRI at age 2–3 years without sedation, and to explore the relationship between cortical structure and neurocognitive development at this understudied age in a sub-Saharan African setting. A total of 239 children from the Drakenstein Child Health Study, a large observational South African birth cohort, were recruited for neuroimaging at 2–3 years of age. Scans were conducted during natural sleep utilising locally developed techniques. T1-MEMPRAGE and T2-weighted structural imaging, resting state functional MRI, diffusion tensor imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy sequences were included. Child neurodevelopment was assessed using the Bayley-III Scales of Infant and Toddler Development. Following 23 pilot scans, 216 children underwent scanning and T1-weighted images were obtained from 167/216 (77%) of children (median age 34.8 months). Furthermore, we found cortical surface area and thickness within frontal regions were associated with cognitive development, and in temporal and frontal regions with language development (beta coefficient ≥0.20). Overall, we demonstrate the feasibility of carrying out a neuroimaging study of young children during natural sleep in sub-Saharan Africa. Our findings indicate that dynamic morphological changes in heteromodal association regions are associated with cognitive and language development at this young age. These proof-of-concept analyses suggest similar links between the brain and cognition as prior literature from high income countries, enhancing understanding of the interplay between cortical structure and function during brain maturation.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811920303335NeuroimagingChildrenAfricaCortical surface areaCortical thicknessCognition |
| spellingShingle | Catherine J. Wedderburn Sivenesi Subramoney Shunmay Yeung Jean-Paul Fouche Shantanu H. Joshi Katherine L. Narr Andrea M. Rehman Annerine Roos Jonathan Ipser Frances C. Robertson Nynke A. Groenewold Diana M. Gibb Heather J. Zar Dan J. Stein Kirsten A. Donald Neuroimaging young children and associations with neurocognitive development in a South African birth cohort study NeuroImage Neuroimaging Children Africa Cortical surface area Cortical thickness Cognition |
| title | Neuroimaging young children and associations with neurocognitive development in a South African birth cohort study |
| title_full | Neuroimaging young children and associations with neurocognitive development in a South African birth cohort study |
| title_fullStr | Neuroimaging young children and associations with neurocognitive development in a South African birth cohort study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Neuroimaging young children and associations with neurocognitive development in a South African birth cohort study |
| title_short | Neuroimaging young children and associations with neurocognitive development in a South African birth cohort study |
| title_sort | neuroimaging young children and associations with neurocognitive development in a south african birth cohort study |
| topic | Neuroimaging Children Africa Cortical surface area Cortical thickness Cognition |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811920303335 |
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