Corpus callosum structural characteristics in very preterm children and adolescents: Developmental trajectory and relationship to cognitive functioning

Previous studies suggest that structural alteration of the corpus callosum, i.e., the largest white matter commissural pathway, occurs after a preterm birth in the neonatal period and lasts across development. The present study aims to unravel corpus callosum structural characteristics across childhood and adolescence in very preterm (VPT) individuals, and their associations with general intellectual, executive and socio-emotional functioning. Neuropsychological assessments, T1-weighted and multi-shell diffusion MRI were collected in 79 VPT and 46 full term controls aged 6-14 years. Volumetric, diffusion tensor and neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) measures were extracted on 7 callosal portions using TractSeg. A multivariate data-driven approach (partial least squares correlation) and a cohort-based age normative modelling approach were used to explore associations between callosal characteristics and neuropsychological outcomes. The VPT and a full-term control groups showed similar trends of white-matter maturation over time, i.e., increase FA and reduced ODI, in all callosal segments, that was associated with increase in general intellectual functioning. However, using a cohort-based age-related normative modelling, findings show atypical pattern of callosal development in the VPT group, with reduced callosal maturation over time that was associated with poorer general intellectual and working memory functioning, as well as with lower gestational age.