The effect of mindfulness-based intervention on neurobehavioural functioning and its association with white-matter microstructural changes in preterm young adolescents.

Very preterm (VPT) young adolescents are at high risk of executive, behavioural and socio-emotional difficulties. Previous research has shown significant evidence of the benefits of mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) on these abilities. This study aims to assess the association between the effects of MBI on neurobehavioral functioning and changes in white-matter microstructure in VPT young adolescents who completed an 8-week MBI program. Neurobehavioural assessments (i.e., neuropsychological testing, parents- and self-reported questionnaires) and multi-shell diffusion MRI were performed before and after MBI in 32 VPT young adolescents. Combined diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) measures were extracted on well-defined white matter tracts (TractSeg). A multivariate data-driven approach (partial least squares correlation) was used to explore associations between MBI-related changes on neurobehavioural measures and microstructural changes. The results showed an enhancement of global executive functioning using parent-reported questionnaire after MBI that was associated with a general pattern of increase in fractional anisotropy (FA) and decrease in axonal dispersion (ODI) in white-matter tracts involved in executive processes. Young VPT adolescents with lower gestational age at birth showed the greatest gain in white-matter microstructural changes after MBI.

The effect of a mindfulness-based intervention on executive, behavioural and socio-emotional competencies in very preterm young adolescents.

Very preterm (VPT) children and adolescents show executive, behavioural and socio-emotional difficulties that persists into adulthood. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of a mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) in improving these competencies in VPT young adolescents using a randomised controlled trial design. 56 young adolescents aged 10-14 years, born before 32 gestational weeks, were randomly assigned to an "intervention" or a "waiting" group and completed an 8-week MBI in a cross-over design. Executive, behavioural and socio-emotional competencies were assessed at three different time points via parent and self-reported questionnaires, neuropsychological testing and computerised tasks. The data were analysed using an intention-to-treat approach with linear regression modelling. Our findings show a beneficial effect of MBI on executive, behavioural and socio-emotional competencies in VPT young adolescents measured by parent questionnaires. Increased executive competencies were also observed on computerised task with enhanced speed of processing after MBI. Two subgroups of participants were created based on measures of prematurity, which revealed increased long-term benefits in the moderate-risk that were not observed in the high-risk subgroups of VPT young adolescents. MBI seems a valuable tool for reducing detrimental consequences of prematurity in young adolescents, especially regarding executive, behavioural and socio-emotional difficulties.Clinical Trial Registration ClinicalTrials, NCT04638101. Registered 20 November 2020-Retrospectively registered, https://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT04638101 .

Improving executive, behavioural and socio-emotional competences in very preterm young adolescents through a mindfulness-based intervention: Study protocol and feasibility.

BACKGROUND: Very preterm (VPT) children and adolescents show executive, behavioural and socio-emotional difficulties that persist into adulthood. Despite the promising role of mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) in improving theses competences in children and adolescents, the effectiveness of an MBI has not been assessed in a VPT population so far. AIMS: To describe the protocol and to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a clinical trial on an 8-week MBI program to enhance executive and socio-emotional competences in a cohort of VPT young adolescents. STUDY DESIGN: A randomised controlled trial (RCT) and a pre-post intervention designs. PARTICIPANTS: 164 VPT young adolescents from 10 to 14 years old, born before 32 gestational weeks, without major intellectual, sensory or physical impairments, and attending mainstream school, were invited to participate in an 8-week MBI program. OUTCOME MEASURES: Completion rate of the study was recorded. Acceptability, satisfaction and attendance measures of the MBI were collected using self-reported questionnaires and registration of attendance. RESULTS: Of the 63 participants who were enrolled in the study (38.2% of families invited to participate), 52 (82.5%) completed all assessments. Acceptability was high as shown by the high attendance rate in the sessions and the feedback evaluation questionnaire. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that an MBI is feasible to implement and show a high acceptability among participants. The use of an RCT design in our study constitutes the gold standard for testing the efficacy of such intervention in VPT young adolescents. If effective, the MBI program could potentially be a valuable tool for improving executive and socio-emotional competences in the vulnerable VPT population. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials, NCT04638101. Registered 19 November 2020 - retrospectively registered, https://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT04638101.

[Mindfulness based interventions for children and adolescents]. / Interventions basées sur la pleine conscience pour les enfants et les adolescents.

Mindfulness based interventions (MBI) are widely available to adults. Programs are also offered to children and adolescents. Interventions in school and clinical settings are increasingly being published in scientific literature. In the school context, the effects are promising on psychological health, such as stress, anxiety, depression or externalized behaviours, and on executive functions, attention, and socio-emotional skills. In the clinical context, MBI has a particular effect on stress/anxiety and depression as well as on the key symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. These results are very encouraging, but all meta-analyses and literature reviews nevertheless emphasize the need for studies with robust methodology before proposing MBI on a large scale for this population.

Les interventions basées sur la pleine conscience (MBI) sont de plus en plus proposées aux enfants et aux adolescents et font l'objet de nombreuses publications scientifiques. Dans le contexte scolaire, les effets sont prometteurs sur la santé psychologique, comme le stress, l'anxiété, la dépression ou les comportements externalisés et sur les fonctions exécutives, l'attention, et les compétences socioémotionnelles. Dans le contexte clinique, les MBI ont un effet en particulier sur le stress/l'anxiété et la dépression ainsi que sur les symptômes clés du trouble du déficit d'attention avec hyperactivité. Ces résultats sont très encourageants mais toutes les méta-analyses et les revues de la littérature soulignent néanmoins la nécessité de faire des études à la méthodologie robuste avant de proposer des MBI à large échelle.

Music in premature infants enhances high-level cognitive brain networks.

Neonatal intensive care units are willing to apply environmental enrichment via music for preterm newborns. However, no evidence of an effect of music on preterm brain development has been reported to date. Using resting-state fMRI, we characterized a circuitry of interest consisting of three network modules interconnected by the salience network that displays reduced network coupling in preterm compared with full-term newborns. Interestingly, preterm infants exposed to music in the neonatal intensive care units have significantly increased coupling between brain networks previously shown to be decreased in premature infants: the salience network with the superior frontal, auditory, and sensorimotor networks, and the salience network with the thalamus and precuneus networks. Therefore, music exposure leads to functional brain architectures that are more similar to those of full-term newborns, providing evidence for a beneficial effect of music on the preterm brain.

Music processing in preterm and full-term newborns: A psychophysiological interaction (PPI) approach in neonatal fMRI.

Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) provide special equipment designed to give life support for the increasing number of prematurely born infants and assure their survival. More recently NICU's strive to include developmentally oriented care and modulate sensory input for preterm infants. Music, among other sensory stimuli, has been introduced into NICUs, but without knowledge on the basic music processing in the brain of preterm infants. In this study, we explored the cortico-subcortical music processing of different types of conditions (Original music, Tempo modification, Key transposition) in newborns shortly after birth to assess the effective connectivity of the primary auditory cortex with the entire newborn brain. Additionally, we investigated if early exposure during NICU stay modulates brain processing of music in preterm infants at term equivalent age. We approached these two questions using Psychophysiological Interaction (PPI) analyses. A group of preterm infants listened to music (Original music) starting from 33 weeks postconceptional age until term equivalent age and were compared to two additional groups without music intervention; preterm infants and full-term newborns. Auditory cortex functional connectivity with cerebral regions known to be implicated in tempo and familiarity processing were identified only for preterm infants with music training in the NICU. Increased connectivity between auditory cortices and thalamus and dorsal striatum may not only reflect their sensitivity to the known music and the processing of its tempo as familiar, but these results are also compatible with the hypothesis that the previously listened music induces a more arousing and pleasant state. Our results suggest that music exposure in NICU's environment can induce brain functional connectivity changes that are associated with music processing.