Altered Functional Connectivity by Brain Injury Severity in Neonates with Hypoxic-ischemic Encephalopathy

Motivation: Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) affects 1-3/1000 newborn infants. Therapeutic hypothermia has improved outcomes; however, >50% have injuries on MRI, ranging from mild to severe1. Goal(s): To understand how HIE brain injury affects functional connectivity across the connectome in neonates with HIE. Approach: Functional connectivity, measured by resting-state fMRI data was compared across 44 infants, stratified by brain injury severity. Results: Infants with mild and moderate/severe injuries had distinct functional connectivity patterns as compared to infants with normal appearing MRIs. Impact: Elucidating the impact of HIE brain injury on functional connectivity not only furthers our understanding of HIE, but also, more broadly, how acute brain injury disrupts activity across complex functional brain networks leading to neurologic dysfunction.