Long-term development of white matter fibre density and morphology up to 13 years after preterm birth

Background: It is well documented that infants born very preterm (VP) are at risk of brain injury and altered brain development in the neonatal period, however there is a lack of long-term, longitudinal studies on the effects of VP birth on white matter development over childhood. Most previous studies were based on voxel-averaged, non-fibre-specific diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures, such as fractional anisotropy. In contrast, the novel diffusion MRI analysis framework, fixel-based analysis (FBA), enables whole-brain analysis of microstructural and macrostructural properties of individual fibre populations at a sub-voxel level. We applied FBA to investigate the long-term implications of VP birth and associated perinatal risk factors on fibre development in childhood and adolescence. Methods: Diffusion images were acquired for a cohort of VP (born