Work

Aperiodic parameters of the fMRI power spectrum associate with preterm birth and neonatal age

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: While strong associations of structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) with preterm birth and post-menstrual age (PMA) have been reported, such associations for functional MRI (fMRI) have been considerably weaker. We studied the associations of the aperiodic parameters of neonatal fMRI Blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signal power spectrum with preterm birth and PMA at scan using task-free fMRI data from the Developing Human Connectome Project (dHCP). First, we studied the associations of the aperiodic parameters of the BOLD signal from pre- and postcentral gyri with preterm birth and mapped the associations with PMA, postnatal age, and sex. Second, we used machine learning regression to predict PMA and postnatal age with 90 cortical and subcortical regions of interest (ROIs). We found clear differences between preterm and full-term groups, as well as males and females. Furthermore, our machine learning model predicted the age variables with relatively high accuracy (mean test R² = 0.20 – 0.41).

Source: Communications Biology

DOI: 10.1038/s42003-025-09488-5