Full-Term and Preterm Differences in Human Brain Functional Connectivity Development Across Birth

L. Ji; D. Cotter; S. Banker; C. J. Trentacosta; M. E. Thomason

doi:10.64898/2026.10.29.762902

AI summary · DOI: 10.64898/2026.10.29.762902 · bioRxiv: Neuroscience

Full-Term and Preterm Differences in Human Brain Functional Connectivity Development Across Birth

L. Ji, D. Cotter, S. Banker, C. J. Trentacosta, M. E. Thomason

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The essentials

Longitudinal fetal and infant MRI reveals divergent functional connectivity trajectories in preterm and full-term brains, with differences depending on alignment by birth or postconceptional age.

Based on the abstract only: check the details in the original paper.

Question

How does resting-state functional connectivity develop across the fetal-to-neonatal transition, and how do these trajectories differ between preterm and full-term births?

Method

The study characterized resting-state functional connectivity using over 1000 longitudinal fetal and infant functional MRI scans spanning 21 to 52 post-conception weeks. Developmental trajectories were compared at global and network levels, aligned by birth and by postconceptional age, with examination of delivery mode and sex.

Findings

Result When trajectories were aligned by birth, the full-term group generally had higher resting-state functional connectivity than the preterm group.
See the passage in the paper
When aligned by birth, the full-term group exhibit generally higher RSFC than the preterm group.
Result Selected between-network connections increased with age in full-term cases but showed minimal change or decreases in preterm cases.
See the passage in the paper
For selected between-network connections with a significant prematurity effect, full-term cases demonstrate an overall increase in RSFC across age, whereas preterm cases show minimal change or even a decrease in connectivity of these systems.
Result When aligned by postconceptional age, the preterm group showed an accelerated connectivity increase between 30 and 40 weeks.
See the passage in the paper
In contrast, when aligned by postconceptional age, the preterm group shows an accelerated increase in RSFC between 30 and 40 weeks.
Result Delivery mode and sex had minimal influence on the observed developmental trajectories.
See the passage in the paper
Across comparisons, mode of delivery and sex showed minimal influence on these trajectories.

Limitations

The supplied abstract does not report participant counts, effect sizes, or detailed statistical methods, limiting assessment of the strength and precision of the reported differences.

Why it matters

The authors argue that these findings clarify how prematurity and early exposure to the extrauterine environment alter large-scale neural network development. They extend understanding of typical and preterm brain development across birth.

Written by AI from the paper. Passages are checked word for word against the text we analysed; the rest may contain errors.

AI-generated keywords: Prematurity Brain development Resting-state functional connectivity Functional MRI Postconceptional age

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Comprehensive Summary
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Original abstract

This study examines how functional connections in the human brain develop from fetal life through early infancy and how these patterns differ between infants born preterm and those born at full term. Its central question is whether premature birth—and the resulting earlier exposure to the environment outside the womb—is associated with a different trajectory of large-scale brain network development. The researchers also examine how the developmental timeline used for comparison affects the findings, distinguishing time relative to birth from postconceptional age, which measures developmental age from conception. The researchers analyzed more than 1,000 longitudinal fetal and infant functional MRI scans spanning 21 to 52 postconceptional weeks. They measured resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC), which describes the synchronization of activity fluctuations across brain regions when no specific task is being performed. They mapped changes in overall connectivity and connections between brain networks across the fetal-to-neonatal transition, then compared developmental trajectories between preterm and full-term groups using both birth-aligned and postconceptional-age-aligned analyses. They also assessed whether sex and mode of delivery influenced these trajectories. The main finding was that connectivity development differed substantially between the groups, but the apparent direction of the difference depended on how developmental time was defined. When observations were aligned relative to birth, full-term infants generally showed higher RSFC than preterm infants. Among selected connections between networks that showed a significant effect of prematurity, connectivity generally increased with age in full-term participants. In preterm participants, the same connections changed little or, in some cases, declined. These findings suggest that prematurity is associated not simply with uniformly lower connectivity, but with altered developmental patterns in particular systems. A different pattern emerged when the groups were compared at the same postconceptional ages: preterm infants showed a more rapid increase in connectivity between 30 and 40 postconceptional weeks. This finding does not necessarily contradict the birth-aligned results, because the two comparisons use different reference points and capture different aspects of development across birth. Together, they underscore the importance of distinguishing developmental age from time relative to delivery. Sex and mode of delivery had minimal influence on the reported connectivity trajectories. The authors conclude that prematurity and earlier exposure to the extrauterine environment are associated with altered development of large-scale functional brain networks. Their findings highlight birth as an important transition in early brain development and show how its timing can complicate comparisons between preterm and full-term infants. However, the abstract does not establish that extrauterine exposure causes the observed differences or indicate whether these connectivity patterns predict later cognitive or behavioral outcomes. This summary is based on the supplied title, author information, and abstract of a bioRxiv preprint; the full text was unavailable because of licensing restrictions. Although the abstract reports the number of scans and developmental age range, it does not provide participant counts, group sizes, specific network identities, effect sizes, exact statistical results, or detailed information about imaging quality control and potential confounders. These omissions limit assessment of the findings’ strength, precision, and generalizability.

How Birth Timing Shapes the Brain’s Developing Connections

The developing brain is already building coordinated patterns of activity before a baby takes their first breath. Across fetal life and early infancy, distant brain regions increasingly work together, laying the groundwork for large-scale networks. But what happens when birth occurs early, moving part of this development from the womb into the outside world?

A study titled “Full-Term and Preterm Differences in Human Brain Functional Connectivity Development Across Birth,” by L. Ji, D. Cotter, S. Banker, C. J. Trentacosta, and M. E. Thomason, explores that question. Its central finding is nuanced: preterm and full-term infants show different patterns of brain connectivity development, but the apparent direction of those differences depends on how researchers measure developmental time.

Looking at the Brain’s Networks Before and After Birth

The researchers analyzed more than 1,000 longitudinal fetal and infant functional MRI scans spanning 21 to 52 postconceptional weeks. This range captures an important stretch of development, from fetal life through the early months after birth.

Their focus was resting-state functional connectivity, or RSFC. This measure describes how closely activity fluctuations in different brain regions rise and fall together when no specific task is being performed. Such synchronization helps researchers study how brain regions function as coordinated networks. It does not directly measure physical connections between regions, nor does stronger synchronization automatically mean better brain function.

The team examined changes in overall connectivity and connections between networks across the transition from fetal to neonatal life. They then compared developmental trajectories in preterm and full-term groups, using two different timelines. They also assessed whether sex and mode of delivery influenced the observed patterns.

Two Clocks, Two Views of Development

Understanding the results requires distinguishing between two ways of tracking early development:

Time relative to birth places delivery at the center of the timeline, comparing observations according to when they occurred before or after birth.
Postconceptional age tracks developmental time from conception, regardless of whether a baby is still in the womb or has already been born.

These clocks answer different questions. Two infants observed at a similar time after birth may be at different developmental ages if one was born prematurely. Conversely, two infants at the same postconceptional age may have spent very different amounts of time outside the womb.

This distinction is more than a technical detail. In this study, it substantially changed how the relationship between prematurity and connectivity appeared.

What the Birth-Aligned Comparison Showed

When observations were aligned relative to birth, full-term infants generally showed higher resting-state functional connectivity than preterm infants. For selected connections between networks that showed a significant effect of prematurity, connectivity generally increased with age in full-term participants.

In preterm participants, those same connections changed little or, in some cases, declined. This suggests that prematurity is associated with altered developmental patterns in particular systems, rather than simply a uniform reduction in connectivity across the brain.

The distinction matters because a single comparison can obscure how networks change over time. Development involves not only the level of connectivity at a particular moment, but also whether that connectivity is strengthening, remaining stable, or decreasing.

What Changed When Developmental Age Was Matched?

A different pattern emerged when the researchers compared infants at the same postconceptional ages. Between 30 and 40 postconceptional weeks, preterm infants showed a more rapid increase in connectivity.

That result does not necessarily contradict the birth-aligned findings. A faster increase during one developmental window is not the same as having higher connectivity overall. More importantly, the two analyses use different reference points and capture different aspects of development across birth.

Together, the findings show why claims that preterm connectivity is simply “higher,” “lower,” or “faster-developing” can be misleading without specifying the timeline. The study also found that sex and mode of delivery had minimal influence on the reported trajectories.

What the Findings Can—and Cannot—Tell Us

The results support an association between prematurity, earlier exposure to the extrauterine environment, and altered development of large-scale functional brain networks. They highlight birth as an important transition rather than merely a convenient date for organizing measurements.

However, the findings do not establish that exposure to the environment outside the womb causes the observed differences. The supplied abstract also does not indicate whether these connectivity patterns predict later cognitive or behavioral outcomes. Faster increases or higher connectivity should therefore not be interpreted as evidence of either an advantage or a problem.

Important Limits to Keep in Mind

This article is based on the supplied title, author information, and abstract of a preprint; the full text was unavailable because of licensing restrictions. Although the abstract reports the scan count and developmental age range, it does not provide participant counts, group sizes, specific network identities, effect sizes, exact statistical results, or detailed imaging quality-control and confounder information. More than 1,000 scans should not be confused with more than 1,000 individual participants.

Those gaps limit assessment of the findings’ strength and generalizability. Still, the study offers a clear lesson: understanding early brain development requires attention to both developmental age and the timing of birth. Which clock researchers use can change the story the data appear to tell.

Created on 02 Nov. 2026

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Weekly letter Presented in "Brain and behaviour this week" of 2 November 2026. Brain and behaviour this week: What wiring explains—and what context changes

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Full-Term and Preterm Differences in Human Brain Functional Connectivity Development Across Birth

The essentials

Question

Method

Findings

Limitations

Why it matters

Read further

Definitions

How Birth Timing Shapes the Brain’s Developing Connections

Looking at the Brain’s Networks Before and After Birth

Two Clocks, Two Views of Development

What the Birth-Aligned Comparison Showed

What Changed When Developmental Age Was Matched?

What the Findings Can—and Cannot—Tell Us

Important Limits to Keep in Mind

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