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. 2022 Nov 2;17(11):977-985.
doi: 10.1093/scan/nsac027.

Development of the mentalizing network structures and theory of mind in extremely preterm youth

Xiaoxue Fu  1 , Andy Hung  2 , Aryanne D de Silva  2 , Tyler Busch  2 , Whitney I Mattson  2 , Kristen R Hoskinson  2   3 , Hudson Gerry Taylor  2   3 , Eric E Nelson  2   3
Affiliations

Development of the mentalizing network structures and theory of mind in extremely preterm youth

Xiaoxue Fu et al. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. .

Abstract

Adolescents born preterm (<37 weeks of gestation) are at elevated risk for deficits in social cognition and peer relationships. Theory of Mind (ToM) is a complex form of social cognition important for regulating social interactions. ToM and the underlying mentalizing network continue to develop across adolescence. The present study recruited 48 adolescents (12-17 years old) who were either born extremely preterm (EPT; <28 weeks of gestation) or full-term (FT) at birth. Cortical thickness, gray matter volume and surface area were measured in four regions of the mentalizing network: the temporoparietal junction, anterior temporal cortex, posterior superior temporal sulcus and frontal pole (mBA10). We also assessed the adolescents' performance on a ToM task. Findings revealed both group differences and group-by-age interaction effects in the gray matter indices within the temporal lobe regions of the mentalizing network. The EPT group also performed significantly worse than the FT group on the ToM task. The cortical structural measures that discriminated the EPT and FT groups were not related to ToM performance. These results highlight altered developmental changes in brain regions underlying mentalizing functions in EPT adolescents relative to FT controls.

Keywords: MRI; adolescence; mentalizing network; preterm birth; social cognition.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
The social brain ROIs. The ROI masks were obtained from Mills et al. (2014). The ROIs are medial Brodmann Area 10 (mBA10; purple), TPJ (dark blue), pSTS (aqua) and ATC (yellow).
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Group differences in EFFT measures. A. Group differences in the ToM score controlling for age. The ToM score is the sum of ‘Feel Inside’ and ‘Look on Face’ scale scores. B. The mean ‘Feel Inside’ and ‘Look on Face’ scores for the EPT and control group.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Results of the interaction effect of group (EPT birth vs. FT birth) and age on GMV and SA. Significant cortical regions (corrected P < 0.05) were projected onto the inflated surfaces of the left and right hemispheres. The colored lines marked the ROIs (c.f. Figure 1).
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.
The extracted values of GMV and SA measures from regions that showed the significant group (EPT and FT controls) and age interaction effect.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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