Altered resting-state functional connectivity in newborns with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy assessed using high-density functional near-infrared spectroscopy

Lingkai Tang; Lilian M N Kebaya; Talal Altamimi; Alexandra Kowalczyk; Melab Musabi; Sriya Roychaudhuri; Homa Vahidi; Paige Meyerink; Sandrine de Ribaupierre; Soume Bhattacharya; Leandro Tristao Abi Ramia de Moraes; Keith St Lawrence; Emma G Duerden

doi:10.1038/s41598-024-53256-0

Altered resting-state functional connectivity in newborns with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy assessed using high-density functional near-infrared spectroscopy

Sci Rep. 2024 Feb 7;14(1):3176. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-53256-0.

Authors

Lingkai Tang¹, Lilian M N Kebaya^{2

3

4}, Talal Altamimi³, Alexandra Kowalczyk³, Melab Musabi³, Sriya Roychaudhuri³, Homa Vahidi², Paige Meyerink³, Sandrine de Ribaupierre^{2

5}, Soume Bhattacharya³, Leandro Tristao Abi Ramia de Moraes⁶, Keith St Lawrence^{1

7}, Emma G Duerden^{8

9

10}

Affiliations

¹ Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Western University, London, ON, Canada.
² Neuroscience, Schulich Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, ON, Canada.
³ Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, Schulich Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, ON, Canada.
⁴ Department of Paediatrics, Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁵ Clinical Neurological Sciences, Schulich Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, ON, Canada.
⁶ Medical Imaging, London Health Sciences Centre, Western University, London, ON, Canada.
⁷ Medical Biophysics, Schulich Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, ON, Canada.
⁸ Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Western University, London, ON, Canada. eduerden@uwo.ca.
⁹ Neuroscience, Schulich Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, ON, Canada. eduerden@uwo.ca.
¹⁰ Applied Psychology, Faculty of Education, Western University, 1137 Western Rd, London, ON, N6G 1G7, Canada. eduerden@uwo.ca.

Abstract

Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) results from a lack of oxygen to the brain during the perinatal period. HIE can lead to mortality and various acute and long-term morbidities. Improved bedside monitoring methods are needed to identify biomarkers of brain health. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) can assess resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) at the bedside. We acquired resting-state fNIRS data from 21 neonates with HIE (postmenstrual age [PMA] = 39.96), in 19 neonates the scans were acquired post-therapeutic hypothermia (TH), and from 20 term-born healthy newborns (PMA = 39.93). Twelve HIE neonates also underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) post-TH. RSFC was calculated as correlation coefficients amongst the time courses for fNIRS and fMRI data, respectively. The fNIRS and fMRI RSFC maps were comparable. RSFC patterns were then measured with graph theory metrics and compared between HIE infants and healthy controls. HIE newborns showed significantly increased clustering coefficients, network efficiency and modularity compared to controls. Using a support vector machine algorithm, RSFC features demonstrated good performance in classifying the HIE and healthy newborns in separate groups. Our results indicate the utility of fNIRS-connectivity patterns as potential biomarkers for HIE and fNIRS as a new bedside tool for newborns with HIE.

MeSH terms

Biomarkers
Brain / diagnostic imaging
Humans
Hypothermia, Induced* / methods
Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain* / diagnostic imaging
Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain* / therapy
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared / methods

Substances

Biomarkers