Open AccessBirth weight is associated with adolescent brain development: A multimodal imaging study in monozygotic twins
Author(s) -
Hayward Dana A.,
Pomares Florence,
Casey Kevin F.,
Ismaylova Elmira,
Levesque Melissa,
Greenlaw Keelin,
Vitaro Frank,
Brendgen Mara,
Rénard Felix,
Dionne Ginette,
Boivin Michel,
Tremblay Richard E.,
Booij Linda
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
human brain mapping
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.005
H-Index - 191
eISSN - 1097-0193
pISSN - 1065-9471
DOI - 10.1002/hbm.25188
Subject(s) - amygdala , default mode network , monozygotic twin , psychology , limbic system , birth weight , hippocampus , twin study , neuroimaging , magnetic resonance imaging , brain development , low birth weight , functional magnetic resonance imaging , neuroscience , developmental psychology , medicine , biology , genetics , central nervous system , pregnancy , radiology , heritability
Previous research has shown that the prenatal environment, commonly indexed by birth weight (BW), is a predictor of morphological brain development. We previously showed in monozygotic (MZ) twins associations between BW and brain morphology that were independent of genetics. In the present study, we employed a longitudinal MZ twin design to investigate whether variations in prenatal environment (as indexed by discordance in BW) are associated with resting‐state functional connectivity (rs‐FC) and with structural connectivity. We focused on the limbic and default mode networks (DMNs), which are key regions for emotion regulation and internally generated thoughts, respectively. One hundred and six healthy adolescent MZ twins (53 pairs; 42% male pairs) followed longitudinally from birth underwent a magnetic resonance imaging session at age 15. Graph theoretical analysis was applied to rs‐FC measures. TrackVis was used to determine track count as an indicator of structural connectivity strength. Lower BW twins had less efficient limbic network connectivity as compared to their higher BW co‐twin, driven by differences in the efficiency of the right hippocampus and right amygdala. Lower BW male twins had fewer tracks connecting the right hippocampus and right amygdala as compared to their higher BW male co‐twin. There were no associations between BW and the DMN. These findings highlight the possible role of unique prenatal environmental influences in the later development of efficient spontaneous limbic network connections within healthy individuals, irrespective of DNA sequence or shared environment.