Functional MRI (fMRI) has not previously been used systematically to investigate brain function in preterm infants. We here describe statistically robust and reproducible fMRI results in this challenging subject group using a programmable somatosensory stimulus synchronized with MR image acquisition which induced well-localized positive blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) responses contralateral to the side of the stimulation in: 11 preterm infants (median post menstrual age 33 weeks and 4 days, range 29+1 to 35+3); 6 control infants born at term gestational age; and 18 infants born preterm (median gestational age at birth 30 weeks and 5 days, range 25+4 to 36+0) but studied at term corrected gestational age. Bilateral signals were identified in 8 of the ex-preterm infants at term age. Anatomical confirmation of appropriate activations was provided with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) based tractography which identified connecting pathways from the regions of activation through the ipsilateral corticospinal tracts and posterior limb of the internal capsule. These results demonstrate that it is possible to reliably identify positive BOLD signals in the infant brain and that fMRI techniques can also be applied in the study of preterm infants.
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