New! Sign up for our free email newsletter.
Science News
from research organizations

Abnormal brain ultrasounds in premature infants indicate future risk of psychiatric disorders

Date:
July 15, 2011
Source:
Columbia University Medical Center
Summary:
Infants born prematurely are at risk for injuries to the white and gray matter of the brain that affect cortical development and neural connectivity. Certain forms of these injuries can be detected in the neonatal period using ultrasound, according to new research.
Share:
FULL STORY

Infants born prematurely are at risk for injuries to the white and gray matter of the brain that affect cortical development and neural connectivity. Certain forms of these injuries can be detected in the neonatal period using ultrasound, according to Columbia University Medical Center researchers.

Researchers who followed a group of premature infants until age 16 found that those with neonatal ultrasound abnormalities were at increased risk for specific psychiatric disorders, namely, attention deficit hyperactivity, tic disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, and major depression―all of which are thought to arise from dysfunctions of the subcortical-cortical circuits. The findings were published in the July 2011 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.

Premature birth is a growing problem in the United States, adding to the significance of the findings. An increased appreciation of the relation between perinatal brain injuries and later psychiatric disorders could lead to earlier diagnosis and intervention by the pediatricians, psychiatrists, and neurologists who care for these children and adolescents. Future research may also explore the relation of perinatal brain injury to psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia, that more commonly come to clinical attention in adulthood

A research group at Columbia University Medical Center/New York State Psychiatric Institute led by Dr. Agnes Whitaker, MD, evaluated more than 400 nondisabled adolescents who had been born prematurely and had had abnormal brain ultrasounds taken at birth. When the researchers administered questionnaires and cognitive tests to the subjects and interviewed their parents, they found a relation between perinatal brain injuries and certain psychiatric disorders at adolescence that could not be explained by other medical or social factors.

Although scientists have speculated for decades that early brain injury can have long-term psychiatric effects, these results provide the first strong empirical evidence of such a relation. "The study," says Whitaker, a clinical professor of psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University and research psychiatrist in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at New York State Psychiatric Institute, "is a beautiful example of interdisciplinary work. The team included researchers from neonatology, pediatrics, psychiatry, and epidemiology. It couldn't have been done otherwise."

The study's authors are Agnes H. Whitaker (CUMC and NYSPI), Judith F. Feldman (CUMC and NYSPI), John M. Lorenz (CUMC), Fiona McNicholas (University Hospital Dublin), Prudence W. Fisher (CUMC and NYSPI), Sa Shen (CUMC and NYSPI), Jennifer Pinto-Martin (University of Pennsylvania), David Shaffer (CUMC and NYSPI), and Nigel Paneth (Michigan State University).

The study was supported by the NIH, the March of Dimes, and the Ruane Fund.


Story Source:

Materials provided by Columbia University Medical Center. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Cite This Page:

Columbia University Medical Center. "Abnormal brain ultrasounds in premature infants indicate future risk of psychiatric disorders." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 15 July 2011. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110714191531.htm>.
Columbia University Medical Center. (2011, July 15). Abnormal brain ultrasounds in premature infants indicate future risk of psychiatric disorders. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 28, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110714191531.htm
Columbia University Medical Center. "Abnormal brain ultrasounds in premature infants indicate future risk of psychiatric disorders." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110714191531.htm (accessed March 28, 2024).

Explore More

from ScienceDaily

RELATED STORIES