fMRI and DTI in Children with PVH/PVL
Purpose
Premature birth and its complications may result in injury to white matter of the brain. White matter is akin to electrical wiring; it allows information to flow from one region of the brain to another. New brain imaging techniques, called diffusion tensor imaging or DTI can quantify the status of white matter. In previous studies we have found that children who have injury to language processing areas learn to speak and activate other regions of the brain when using language. In this study, we will consider the brain’s ability to recover and reorganize after injury to white matter. The DTI describes injury. Behavioral studies document functioning. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) shows which brain regions are active during functioning.
Funders
National Institutes of Health
Participants
Children and adolescents, ages 9 through 16, born before 37 weeks gestation and a matched group of children born at term.
Presentations/Publications
Publications
Yeatman JD, Ben Shachar M, Bammer R, Feldman HM. Using Diffusion Tensor Imaging and Fiber Tracking to Characterize Diffuse Perinatal White Matter Injury: A Case Report. Journal of Child Neurology, 2009, 24, 795-800
Andrew JS, Ben-Shachar M, Yeatman JD, Flom LL, Luna B, Feldman HM. Reading Performance Coorelates with White Matter Properties in Preterm and Full Term Children. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 2009, in press.
Abstracts
Lee ES, Barde L, Yeatman JD, Feldman, HM. Verbal Working Memory and Sentence Comprehension in Preterm Children 9-16 Years Old. Accepted for Presentation at the Society for Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics Annual Meeting, Portland, OR October 4-5, 2009.
