Full-Term and Preterm Differences in Human Brain Functional Connectivity Development Across Birth
How to prepare an accurate paper press kit? Illustrated guide
L. Ji, D. Cotter, S. Banker, C. J. Trentacosta, M. E. Thomason · DOI: 10.64898/2026.10.29.762902 · Summary page
Why cover this story this week?
Birth changes the developmental clock
Does early brain connectivity follow time since conception, or time since birth? A preprint drawing on over 1000 longitudinal fetal and infant functional MRI scans shows why both clocks matter. Across 21 to 52 post-conception weeks, researchers mapped resting-state functional connectivity—the statistical coordination of activity across brain regions—and found different trajectories in preterm- and term-born brains.
Aligned by birth, the full-term group generally had higher connectivity. Some connections between networks strengthened with age in full-term cases but changed little or declined in preterm cases. Aligned instead by postconceptional age, the preterm group showed an accelerated connectivity increase between 30 and 40 weeks. Delivery mode and sex had little influence on these patterns. The findings caution against treating stronger connectivity as a simple sign of more advanced development: the apparent trajectory depends on when the brain entered the world as well as its developmental age.
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