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1-075 - Operations of the prenatal and early postnatal brain

Thu, April 6, 12:00 to 1:30pm, Austin Convention Center, Meeting Room 13A

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

The brain is subject to dramatic developmental processes during the prenatal period, and yet we scarcely understand the processes at play, nor their relevance to future human health. Advances in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) have availed non-invasive means for probing functional and structural development at the beginning of human life, starting in utero. For the very first time, studies are characterizing emergence and maturation of neural networks during gestation, and linking aspects of early behavioral development to intrauterine brain growth. This symposium brings together pioneers in the field of fetal and neonatal MRI and presents new discoveries about brain development at the beginning of human life.
The first paper examines whether synchronized activity in left and right brain hemispheres is preserved in fetuses lacking the corpus callosum, the substantial bundle of fibers connecting the two hemispheres. The second paper looks at the fetal brain from the level of global organizational principals and draws conclusions about properties of overall neural network organization. The third paper explores whether and how fetal brain development predicts infant behavior, with emphasis on features that may predict negative affect and/or poor self-regulation in infancy. The fourth paper is an empirical study of brain metabolism in neonates that describes differences in metabolism that accompany small birth weight. All papers advance understanding about neural function at the beginning of life, describing processes and properties that set the stage for future human development.

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