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Very preterm (VPT) children and adolescents show executive, behavioural and socio-emotional difficulties that persists into adulthood. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of a mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) in improving these competencies in VPT young adolescents using a randomised controlled trial design. 56 young adolescents aged 10–14 years, born before 32 gestational weeks, were randomly assigned to an “intervention” or a “waiting” group and completed an 8-week MBI in a cross-over design. Executive, behavioural and socio-emotional competencies were assessed at three different time points via parent and self-reported questionnaires, neuropsychological testing and computerised tasks. The data were analysed using an intention-to-treat approach with linear regression modelling. Our findings show a beneficial effect of MBI on executive, behavioural and socio-emotional competencies in VPT young adolescents measured by parent questionnaires. Increased executive competencies were also observed on computerised task with enhanced speed of processing after MBI. Two subgroups of participants were created based on measures of prematurity, which revealed increased long-term benefits in the moderate-risk that were not observed in the high-risk subgroups of VPT young adolescents. MBI seems a valuable tool for reducing detrimental consequences of prematurity in young adolescents, especially regarding executive, behavioural and socio-emotional difficulties.Clinical Trial Registration ClinicalTrials, NCT04638101. Registered 20 November 2020—Retrospectively registered, https://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT04638101.

ObjectivesThis randomised controlled trial (RCT) assesses the effectiveness of a Mindfulness-Based Intervention (MBI) in improving executive, behavioural and socio-emotional competences in very preterm young adolescents.Methods58 young adolescents aged 10 to 14 years, born before 32 gestational weeks at the Geneva University Hospital, Switzerland, participated in the study. They were randomly assigned to an “intervention” or a “waiting” group and all completed an 8-week MBI in a cross-over design. Executive, behavioural and socio-emotional competences were assessed at three different time points via parent and self-reported questionnaires, neuropsychological testing, and computerised tasks. We analysed data using an intention-to-treat approach with linear modelling. Subgroups of participants based on levels of prematurity were created using k-means clustering.ResultsParent questionnaires revealed a statistically significant immediate effect of MBI with increased executive and behavioural competencies in everyday life. Increased executive competence was also observed on a Flanker task with enhanced speed of processing after MBI. Two subgroups of participants were created based on measures of prematurity, which revealed increased long-term benefits in the moderate-risk that are not observed in the high-risk subgroups of VPT young adolescents.ConclusionsOur findings show a beneficial effect of MBI on executive, behavioural and socio-emotional competences in VPT young adolescents. Moderate-risk and high-risk VPT young adolescents showed different immediate and long-term beneficial effects of the intervention. Our results suggest that MBI is a valuable tool for reducing detrimental consequences of prematurity in young adolescents, especially regarding executive, behavioural and socio-emotional difficulties.Data Sharing StatementDeidentified individual participant data (including data dictionaries) will be made available, in addition to study protocols, the statistical analysis plan, and the informed consent form. The data will be made available upon publication to researchers who provide a methodologically sound proposal for use in achieving the goals of the approved proposal. Proposals should be submitted to Russia.HaVinhLeuchter@unige.ch.

Background(VPT) children and adolescents exhibit executive, behavioural and socio-emotional difficulties that persists into adulthood. Previous research suggests that mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) may specifically target the development of theses competences. The objective of the current study is to describe the study protocol and to evaluate the feasibility of a clinical trial on a MBI program to enhance executive, behavioural and socio-emotional competences in a cohort of VPT young adolescents.Methods164 VPT young adolescents from 10 to 14 years old, born before 32 gestational weeks, were invited to participate in an MBI program of 8 weekly sessions in groups of up to 8 participants, lasting 1h30. Participant were enrolled in a randomised controlled trial (RCT) or in a pre-post intervention designs depending of their availability. Satisfaction and attendance measures of the MBI were collected using self-reported questionnaires and registration of attendance.ResultsOf the 63 participants who were enrolled in the study (38.2% of families invited to participate), 52 (82.5%) completed all assessments. Once enrolled, acceptability was high as shown by the high attendance rate in the sessions and the feedback evaluation questionnaire.DiscussionTo our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the feasibility of an MBI study in VPT born young adolescents. Our findings suggest that an MBI study is feasible and show a high acceptability among participants. The use of an RCT design in our study constitutes the gold standard for testing the efficacy of such intervention in VPT young adolescents. If effective, the MBI program could potentially be a valuable tool for improving executive, behaviour and socio-emotional competences in the vulnerable VPT population.Trial registrationClinicalTrials,NCT04638101. Registered 19 November 2020 - Retrospectively registered,https://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT04638101.

Background Very preterm (VPT) children and adolescents show executive, behavioural and socio-emotional difficulties that persist into adulthood. Despite the promising role of mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) in improving theses competences in children and adolescents, the effectiveness of an MBI has not been assessed in a VPT population so far. Aims To describe the protocol and to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a clinical trial on an 8-week MBI program to enhance executive and socio-emotional competences in a cohort of VPT young adolescents. Study design A randomised controlled trial (RCT) and a pre-post intervention designs. Participants 164 VPT young adolescents from 10 to 14 years old, born before 32 gestational weeks, without major intellectual, sensory or physical impairments, and attending mainstream school, were invited to participate in an 8-week MBI program. Outcome measures Completion rate of the study was recorded. Acceptability, satisfaction and attendance measures of the MBI were collected using self-reported questionnaires and registration of attendance. Results Of the 63 participants who were enrolled in the study (38.2% of families invited to participate), 52 (82.5%) completed all assessments. Acceptability was high as shown by the high attendance rate in the sessions and the feedback evaluation questionnaire. Conclusions Our findings suggest that an MBI is feasible to implement and show a high acceptability among participants. The use of an RCT design in our study constitutes the gold standard for testing the efficacy of such intervention in VPT young adolescents. If effective, the MBI program could potentially be a valuable tool for improving executive and socio-emotional competences in the vulnerable VPT population. Trial registration ClinicalTrials, NCT04638101 . Registered 19 November 2020 — retrospectively registered, https://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT04638101 .

Highlights • Mapping hemispheric structural connectivity of an axonal guidance disorder. • Findings from Owen and colleagues (2013) were replicated in a larger cohort. • AgCC showed increased intra-hemispheric graph metrics. • Regional differences in graph metrics were observed at lobe and node levels in AgCC. • Structural graph metrics are not associated with neurobehavioral outcomes in AgCC., Agenesis of the corpus callosum (AgCC) is a congenital brain malformation characterized by the complete or partial failure to develop the corpus callosum. Despite missing the largest white matter bundle connecting the left and right hemispheres of the brain, studies have shown preserved inter-hemispheric communication in individuals with AgCC. It is likely that plasticity provides mechanisms for the brain to adjust in the context of AgCC, as the malformation disrupts programmed developmental brain processes very early on. A proposed candidate for neuroplastic response in individuals with AgCC is strengthening of intra-hemispheric structural connections. In the present study, we explore this hypothesis using a graph-based approach of the structural connectome, which enables intra- and inter-hemispheric analyses at multiple resolutions and quantification of structural characteristics through graph metrics. Structural graph metrics of 19 children with AgCC (13 with complete, 6 with partial AgCC) were compared to those of 29 typically developing controls (TDC). Associations between structural graph metrics and a wide range of neurobehavioral outcomes were examined using a multivariate data-driven approach (Partial Least Squares Correlation, PLSC). Our results provide new evidence suggesting structural strengthening of intra-hemispheric pathways as a neuroplastic response in the acallosal brain, and highlight regional variability in structural connectivity in children with AgCC compared to TDC. There was little evidence that structural graph properties in children with AgCC were associated with neurobehavioral outcomes. To our knowledge, this is the first report leveraging graph theory tools to explicitly characterize whole-brain intra- and inter-hemispheric structural connectivity in AgCC, opening avenues for future research on neuroplastic responses in AgCC.

Investigating context-dependent modulations of Functional Connectivity (FC) with functional magnetic resonance imaging is crucial to reveal the neurological underpinnings of cognitive processing. Most current analysis methods hypothesise sustained FC within the duration of a task, but this assumption has been shown too limiting by recent imaging studies. While several methods have been proposed to study functional dynamics during rest, task-based studies are yet to fully disentangle network modulations. Here, we propose a seed-based method to probe task-dependent modulations of brain activity by revealing Psychophysiological Interactions of Co-activation Patterns (PPI-CAPs). This point process-based approach temporally decomposes task-modulated connectivity into dynamic building blocks which cannot be captured by current methods, such as PPI or Dynamic Causal Modelling. Additionally, it identifies the occurrence of co-activation patterns at single frame resolution as opposed to window-based methods. In a naturalistic setting where participants watched a TV program, we retrieved several patterns of co-activation with a posterior cingulate cortex seed whose occurrence rates and polarity varied depending on the context; on the seed activity; or on an interaction between the two. Moreover, our method exposed the consistency in effective connectivity patterns across subjects and time, allowing us to uncover links between PPI-CAPs and specific stimuli contained in the video. Our study reveals that explicitly tracking connectivity pattern transients is paramount to advance our understanding of how different brain areas dynamically communicate when presented with a set of cues.

Introduction Orbitofrontal reality filtering (ORFi) is a memory mechanism that distinguishes whether a thought is relevant to present reality or not. In adults, it is mediated by the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). This region is still not fully developed in preteenagers, but ORFi is already active from age 7. Here, we probe the neural correlates of ORFi in early adolescents, hypothesizing that OFC mediates the sense of reality in this population. Methods Functional magnetic resonance images (fMRI) were acquired in 22 early adolescents during a task composed of two runs: run 1 measuring recognition capacity; run 2 measuring ORFi; each containing two types of images (conditions): distractors (D: images seen for the first time in the current run) and targets (T: images seen for the second time in the current run). Group region of interest (ROI) analysis was performed in a flexible factorial design with two factors (run and condition) using SPM12. Results We found significant main effects for the experimental run and condition. The bilateral OFC activation was higher during ORFi than during the first run. Additionally, the OFC was more active while processing distractors than targets. Conclusion These results confirm, for the first time, the role of OFC in reality filtering in early adolescents., Orbitofrontal reality filtering (ORFi) is a memory mechanism that distinguishes whether a thought is relevant to present reality or not, and in adults it is mediated by the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). In children, the OFC is one of the last regions to develop, but ORFi is already functional from age 7. Using functional magnetic resonance images, we probe for the first time the neural correlates of ORFi in early adolescents, hypothesizing that OFC mediates the sense of reality in this population.

Recent progress in neuroimaging has paved the way for modalities that allow elucidation not only of brain structure but also of brain function. Among these developments is functional magnetic reson...

Preterm birth is one of the main causes for neurodevelopmental problems, and has been associated with a wide range of impairments in cognitive functions including executive functions and memory. One of the factors contributing to these adverse outcomes is the intrinsic vulnerability of the premature brain. Neuroimaging studies have highlighted structural and functional alterations in several brain regions in preterm individuals across lifetime. The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is crucial for a multitude of complex and adaptive behaviours, and its structure is particularly affected by premature birth. Nevertheless, studies on the functional impact of prematurity on the OFC are still missing. Orbitofrontal Reality filtering (ORFi) refers to the ability to distinguish if a thought is relevant to present reality or not. It can be tested using a continuous recognition task and is mediated by the OFC in adults and typically developing young adolescents. Therefore, the ORFi task was used to investigate whether OFC functioning is affected by prematurity. We compared the neural correlates of ORFi in 35 young adolescents born preterm (below 32 weeks of gestation) and aged 10 to 14 years with 25 full term-born controls. Our findings indicate that OFC activation was required only in the full-term group, whereas preterm young adolescents did not involve OFC in processing the ORFi task, despite being able to correctly perform it.

Background Excessive and inconsolable crying behavior in otherwise healthy infants (a condition called infant colic (IC)) is very distressing to parents, may lead to maternal depression, and in extreme cases, may result in shaken baby syndrome. Despite the high prevalence of this condition (20% of healthy infants), the underlying neural mechanisms of IC are still unknown. Methods By employing the latest magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques in newborns, we prospectively investigated whether newborns' early brain responses to a sensory stimulus (smell) is associated with a subsequent crying behavior. Results In our sample population of 21 healthy breastfed newborns, those who developed IC at 6 weeks exhibited brain activation and functional connectivity in primary and secondary olfactory brain areas that were distinct from those in babies that did not develop IC. Different activation in brain regions known to be involved in sensory integration was also observed in colicky babies. These responses measured shortly after birth were highly correlated with the mean crying time at 6 weeks of age. Conclusions Our results offer novel insights into IC pathophysiology by demonstrating that, shortly after birth, the central nervous system of babies developing IC has already greater reactivity to sensory stimuli than that of their noncolicky peers. Impact, Shortly after birth, the central nervous system of colicky infants has a greater sensitivity to olfactory stimuli than that of their noncolicky peers. This early sensitivity explains as much as 48% of their subsequent crying behavior at 6 weeks of life. Brain activation patterns to olfactory stimuli in colicky infants include not only primary olfactory areas but also brain regions involved in pain processing, emotional valence attribution, and self-regulation. This study links earlier findings in fields as diverse as gastroenterology and behavioral psychology and has the potential of helping healthcare professionals to define strategies to advise families.

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.