Neonatal Amygdala Functional Connectivity at Rest in Healthy and Preterm Infants and Early Internalizing Symptoms

作者：Rogers Cynthic E^*; Sylvester Chad M; Mintz Carrie; Kenley Jeanette K; Shimony Joshua S; Barch Deanna M; Smyser Christopher D

来源：Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2017, 56(2): 157-166.

DOI：10.1016/j.jaac.2016.11.005

• infant
• internalizing
• amygdala
• functional connectivity

Objective: Alterations in the normal developmental trajectory of amygdala resting state functional connectivity (rs-FC) have been associated with atypical emotional processes and psychopathology. Little is known, however, regarding amygdala rs-FC at birth or its relevance to outcomes. This study examined amygdala rs-FC in healthy, full-term (FT) infants and in very preterm (VPT) infants, and tested whether variability of neonatal amygdala rs-FC predicted internalizing symptoms at age 2 years.
Method: Resting state fMRI data were obtained shortly after birth from 65 FT infants (gestational age [GA] >= 36 weeks) and 57 VPT infants (GA <30 weeks) at term equivalent. Voxelwise correlation analyses were performed using individual-specific bilateral amygdala regions of interest. Total internalizing symptoms and the behavioral inhibition, depression/withdrawal, general anxiety, and separation distress subdomains were assessed in a subset (n = 44) at age 2 years using the Infant Toddler Social Emotional Assessment.
Results: In FT and VPT infants, the amygdala demonstrated positive correlations with subcortical and limbic structures and negative correlations with cortical regions, although magnitudes were decreased in VPT infants. Neonatal amygdala rs-FC predicted internalizing symptoms at age 2 years with regional specificity consistent with known pathophysiology in older populations: connectivity with the anterior insula related to depressive symptoms, with the dorsal anterior cingulate related to generalized anxiety, and with the medial prefrontal cortex related to behavioral inhibition.
Conclusion: Amygdala rs-FC is well established in neonates. Variability in regional neonatal amygdala rs-FC predicted internalizing symptoms at 2 years, suggesting that risk for internalizing symptoms may be established in neonatal amygdala functional connectivity patterns.

• 出版日期2017-2