The effect of preterm birth on thalamic development based on shape and structural covariance analysis

Hongzhuang Li, Mengting Liu, Jianfeng Zhang, Shujuan Liu, Zhicong Fang, Minmin Pan, Xiaodan Sui, Wei Rang, Hang Xiao, Yanyun Jiang, Yuanjie Zheng, Xinting Ge

Abstract: Highlights•The ventral nucleus region, dorsomedial nucleus region, and posterior nucleus region of the thalamus exhibit higher vulnerability to alterations induced by preterm birth.•The structural covariance (SC) between the thalamic and the insula show significant increase after preterm birth.•Preterm birth affects the development of the thalamus and has differential effects on its subregions.