ArticleNeuroImage. Clinical2016
Prenatal stress alters amygdala functional connectivity in preterm neonates.
Article in NeuroImage. Clinical, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 89 papers.
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Who cites it
89 citing papers in PubMed, 131 citations in OpenAlex.
- Decreased amygdala volume in adults after premature birth.Scientific reports · 2021Trial
- Psychological and anthropometric outcomes in preschool children exposed to antenatal maternal obesity: modelling of early life risk factors.BMJ mental health · 2026Article
- Atypical neural responses to dynamically changing facial expressions correlate with behavioral risk in toddlers born preterm: Evidence from an ERP study.Neuroimage. Reports · 2026Article
- Adaptive Skills May Moderate the Association between Prenatal Stress Exposure and Limbic Brain Activation: A Developmental Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study of Superstorm Sandy Exposure.Developmental neuroscience · 2026Article
- Timing of Prenatal Stress Exposure Predicts Infant Sympathetic Nervous System and Affective Responses.Developmental psychobiology · 2026Article
- Early-life neural correlates of behavioral inhibition and anxiety risk.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Review
- Age-Related Changes in the Amygdala From In Utero to Early Childhood: Association With Social and Cognitive Outcomes.Human brain mapping · 2025Article
- Comprehensive Review of the Impact of Maternal Stress on Fetal Development.Pediatric discovery · 2025Review
- Prenatal Household Income Instability and Infant Subcortical Brain Volumes.Developmental science · 2025Article
- Optimizing Psychological Health Across the Perinatal Period: An Update on Maternal Cardiovascular Health: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association.Journal of the American Heart Association · 2025Review
- Third-Trimester Development of Central Autonomic Network Connectivity Is Altered in an Extrauterine Environment.Neonatology · 2025Article
- Neurodevelopmental Pathways from Temperamental Fear to Anxiety.Current topics in behavioral neurosciences · 2025Review
- Neonatal amygdala volumes, procedural pain and the association with social-emotional development in children born very preterm.Brain structure & function · 2024Article
- Assessment of Prenatal Transportation Stress and Sex on Gene Expression Within the Amygdala of Brahman Calves.Biology · 2024Article
- Prenatal Social Determinants of Health: Narrative review of maternal environments and neonatal brain development.Pediatric research · 2024Review
- Advances in fetal and neonatal neuroimaging and everyday exposures.Pediatric research · 2024Review
- Advances in Fetal Brain Imaging.Magnetic resonance imaging clinics of North America · 2024Review
- Intergenerational effects of racism on amygdala and hippocampus resting state functional connectivity.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Brain structural and functional outcomes in the offspring of women experiencing psychological distress during pregnancy.Molecular psychiatry · 2024Review
- Prenatal Maternal Psychological Distress During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Newborn Brain Development.JAMA network open · 2024Article
29 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Exposure to prenatal and early-life stress results in alterations in neural connectivity and an increased risk for neuropsychiatric disorders. In particular, alterations in amygdala connectivity have emerged as a common effect across several recent studies. However, the impact of prenatal stress exposure on the functional organization of the amygdala has yet to be explored in the prematurely-born, a population at high risk for neuropsychiatric disorders. We test the hypothesis that preterm birth and prenatal exposure to maternal stress alter functional connectivity of the amygdala using two independent cohorts. The first cohort is used to establish the effects of preterm birth and consists of 12 very preterm neonates and 25 term controls, all without prenatal stress exposure. The second is analyzed to establish the effects of prenatal stress exposure and consists of 16 extremely preterm neonates with prenatal stress exposure and 10 extremely preterm neonates with no known prenatal stress exposure. Standard resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and seed connectivity methods are used. When compared to term controls, very preterm neonates show significantly reduced connectivity between the amygdala and the thalamus, the hypothalamus, the brainstem, and the insula (p < 0.05). Similarly, when compared to extremely preterm neonates without exposure to prenatal stress, extremely preterm neonates with exposure to prenatal stress show significantly less connectivity between the left amygdala and the thalamus, the hypothalamus, and the peristriate cortex (p < 0.05). Exploratory analysis of the combined cohorts suggests additive effects of prenatal stress on alterations in amygdala connectivity associated with preterm birth. Functional connectivity from the amygdala to other subcortical regions is decreased in preterm neonates compared to term controls. In addition, these data, for the first time, suggest that prenatal stress exposure amplifies these decreases.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.