Integrity of Callosal Motor Pathways Correlates with Motor-Related Function in Term-Equivalent Neonates

Kerstin Pannek¹, Giulia D'Acunto², Andrea Guzzetta³, Simon Finnigan¹, Preethi Mathew¹, Roslyn Boyd¹, Paul Colditz¹, Stephen Rose¹

Preterm birth carries an increased risk of impaired motor function. We used a fully automated tractography technique to delineate interhemispheric motor connections in very preterm infants at term equivalent age and term born neonates. Measures of white matter integrity within the volume of the tracks correlated with clinical motor scores; however measures of white matter integrity on the midsagittal plane alone did not reveal significant correlations. This study describes a fully automated tractography technique for extracting commissural tracks in neonates, and highlights the importance of assessing white matter integrity within tracks, rather than on a single slice.