Monitoring the brain activity of a fetus is an extremely complicated task, mainly due to the fact that, being floating in the amniotic sac , it is in continuous movement. If you’ve ever had an MRI , you’ll remember that doctors ask you to be as still as possible while the scan goes through. This is because, simplifying a lot, the technique consists of obtaining data from different ‘slices’ of the subject in question – as if they were slices of bread -, which are then superimposed to obtain the complete image, and any movement can blur the final result .
However, the development of more precise algorithms is allowing scientists to more precisely match those ‘slices’ obtained from a moving subject. In turn, MRI machines are getting faster and faster, and this allows more data to be taken in less time, with less interference from movement, and also allows more data to be obtained during the short periods of time in which the fetus remains at rest.
Aside from how fascinating it is to be able to observe the activity of a human brain in full development, magnetic resonance imaging (IMR) opens many doors for scientists, since it allows us to study, for example, how neurons connect other. This neuroconnectivity is important because it explains some functional disorders of the brain – mental diseases, developmental disorders – that are not due to a mere anatomical alteration.
Study in premature babies
One of the first results obtained using these advanced neuroimaging techniques has been published in the journal Scientific Reports and reveals differences between the brain activity of premature babies and those who reach full term. Specifically, the researchers found that a part of the brain near Broca’s area – an area related to language processing – had a weaker connection to other regions in babies who later had a premature birth.
Premature babies are more likely to have autism, attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and other learning-related disorders. Other works had studied the brain activity of these babies, also finding low neural connectivity in certain areas, but until now this analysis had only been done after birth. In fact, the cause was thought to be stress, lack of oxygen, and other traumatic factors associated with a difficult delivery , but this work shows that low neuroconnectivity is already observed in the womb.
In addition, a possible cause is raised: the mothers in the study who did not reach term had inflamed placental tissue , leading researchers to suspect that maternal inflammation or infections may play a role in these types of births that occur. early.
“Our research alters the current concept of injuries associated with preterm birth by highlighting prenatal differences in neural circuits,” explains Moriah Thomason, one of the authors and associate professor at Wayne State University School of Medicine ( Detroit, USA). Although this is a very preliminary study, working with advanced neuroimaging techniques will help prevent and better follow premature babies : “An early detection offers more possibilities for intervention,” Thomason emphasizes.
Image: Functional connectivity measured in human fetuses between 20 and 40 weeks’ gestation is shown. Image courtesy of Very Interesting by Moriah E. Thomason, Wayne State University School of Medicine.
