Effects of preterm birth on the development of brain function

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K02589
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 09030:Childhood and nursery/pre-school education-related
• Research Institution: Tokyo Metropolitan University
• Principal Investigator: Fuchino Yutaka 東京都立大学, 人文科学研究科, 助教 (30566401)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 加藤 育子 香川大学, 医学部, 准教授 (00613720) ; 野口 彩香 香川大学, 医学部, 技術補佐員 (40849288)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: hemodynamics / Developmental changes / optical imaging / Infancy

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Using changes in local hemodynamics associated with neural activity, fMRI and optical imaging methods indirectly evaluate neural activity. Recently, these methods have been applied to the study of early development in fetuses and preterm infants, with reports of atypical responses (negative BOLD). This study evaluated changes in oxygenated hemoglobin in response to tactile vibration stimuli in full-term infants from newborns to ten months old. The results showed that while the peak response time was not affected by development, the amount of change in oxygenated hemoglobin varied: positive in newborns, negative at 1-2 months, and positive again with further development. These findings suggest that changes in hemoglobin concentration, blood flow, and neurovascular unit development influence these responses and may help predict developmental risks in preterm infants.

Free Research Field

神経科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は、neurovascular unitの発達過程をより深く理解する手がかりとなる。fMRIや光イメージング法を発達初期の研究に応用することで、これらの技術の有用性と適用範囲が拡大し、胎児や早期産児の脳機能評価のための新たな基準を提供する可能性がある。さらに、脳機能の評価や解釈に新たな視点を提供し、神経科学分野における理論やモデルの再検討が促進される。また，本研究結果は、早期産児の発達リスクを予測するための新たな指標となる可能性がある。これにより、医療機関は早期に適切な介入や治療を行うことが可能となり、親と保護者への安心感を提供し，医療費の削減，公共政策への影響も考え得る。