Neonatal Resting-State Functional Connectivity Predicts Socioemotional and Behavioral Outcomes at 18 Months

Abstract

Early behavioral and temperamental differences are important indicators of later socioemotional development and psychopathology risk, yet their neural bases near birth remain incompletely understood. Using resting-state fMRI data from the Developing Human Connectome Project, we examined whether neonatal functional connectivity predicts 18-month behavioral and temperament outcomes in 397 infants (277 term-born, 120 preterm-born). Outcomes were assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire (ECBQ). We applied a stability-driven, ROI-constrained connectome-based predictive modeling framework to identify robust whole-brain connectivity features associated with measures of externalizing, internalizing, surgency, negative affect, and effortful control at 18 months. Statistically significant predictive models were observed for multiple outcomes across the whole cohort as well as within term-born and preterm-born groups, with clear differences in brain networks between cohorts. Across analyses, prefrontal and temporoparietal regions were repeatedly implicated, alongside medial temporal, fusiform, parahippocampal, and orbitofrontal-related regions. These findings indicate that large-scale neonatal functional organization is meaningfully associated to later socioemotional and behavioral differences, and that preterm birth is associated with differences in which brain networks are associated with later behaviour.