Neurological problems begin in the womb 2026

Brain activity of premature vs. full-term babies

Neuroscientist researchers at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, Michigan have conducted a pioneering study of brain activity in photographs of babies in the womb to confirm that “underlying neurological problems may begin in utero,” according to scientist Moriah Thomason, leader of the project. The results provide the first direct evidence of altered brain function in fetuses who are going to be born prematurely, and ultimately “point to ways to remedy or even prevent such early injuries.”The study wanted to find the reason why babies born prematurely are more likely to develop autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.The researchers found a difference in how certain brain regions communicate with each other in premature babies. Although the results are preliminary because the study was small - functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was performed on 32 babies (14 of them were premature) - they have been able to demonstrate the importance of the work of fetal neuroimaging. "Harnessing the power of these advanced tools is offering us for the first time the opportunity to explore the onset of neurological problems that are occurring in the womb," says Catherine Limperopoulos, a pediatric neuroscientist at Children's National Medical Center in Washington. D.C.

Language, the part of the brain most affected

In Thomason's words: "The majority of pregnant women reach term but there is a population that is at greater risk of premature birth and developmental problems." The team studied "functional connectivity" in the brain, using fMRI to determine which brain regions synchronize activity when the subject is not involved in any particular task, as is the case in the maternal womb. Synchronized activity between brain regions, the thinking goes, shows that those regions are well connected and sharing information.

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One of the main findings of the study is that in the case of premature babies, a small patch on the left side of the brain, in an area that becomes a language processing center, had weaker connectivity with other brain regions than in full-term babies. Hao Huang, who studies neonatal brain development at the University of Pennsylvania, believes "detecting this difference in connectivity so early is interesting." Early detection for language problems is the key to success, which is why this study raises the importance of tracking these children born prematurely in order to help them.

Tangible differences in mothers of premature babies

Until now, it was thought that the alteration in brain activity in premature babies was due to stress, oxygen deprivation or other possible injuries that occurred during childbirth, and this study demonstrates that brain deterioration begins before birth... Mothers who had premature babies had “more inflammation in their placental tissue,” which leads Thomason to suspect that said infection could play a key role.

Great scientific advances

This type of study would have been impossible a short time ago. One of the biggest problems in fetal neuroimaging is that a baby inside the amniotic sac is a moving target and difficult to perform an MRI, but thanks to improvements in algorithms Veronika Schöpf, a mathematician at the University of Graz in Austria, has managed to clearly capture moving resonances. The great mystery that remains to be solved is how throughout pregnancy, the human brain transforms from a simple tube filled with liquid into a complex organ arranged to perceive and interact with the outside world. How this process develops is the great unknown, but thanks to improved MRIs it seems that it can be resolved.

Source: Sciencemag.org