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• Review •
Research progress of MRI on the development of cerebral cortex related to fine motor skills in preterm infants
XU Zifei  WANG Bingyu  DU Meng  WANG Juanchao  LI Hongxin 

Cite this article as: XU Z F, WANG B Y, DU M, et al. Research progress of MRI on the development of cerebral cortex related to fine motor skills in preterm infants[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2025, 16(7): 124-128. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2025.07.020.


[Abstract] In recent years, the survival rate of preterm infants has increased, but the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders has also risen, with motor development problems being particularly prominent. As a key indicator of neurobehavioral development, fine motor skills directly affect early quality of life and long-term cognitive and socio-emotional development. MRI, with its advantages of non-invasiveness, high soft tissue resolution, and functional imaging, has become a core technology for evaluating brain development in preterm infants. However, current research on the association between fine motor development in preterm infants and brain MRI characteristics has limitations, and systematic frameworks for studying pathological mechanisms, technological transformation, and intervention pathways have not yet been established. Studies over the past five years have shown significant differences in MRI indices such as cerebral cortical thickness and gray matter volume between preterm and term infants. These structural abnormalities serve as the biological basis for delayed fine motor development and influence the long-term development of cognitive and motor coordination through neural circuit remodeling. New technologies such as multimodal functional MRI provide new perspectives for dynamically tracking brain development and predicting neurodevelopmental outcomes. Current research faces challenges such as small sample cross-sectional designs, lack of longitudinal data, and insufficient multimodal imaging-clinical phenotype association models. In the future, large-sample longitudinal studies, multimodal MRI technologies, and interdisciplinary approaches are needed to provide a basis for accurate assessment of fine motor development and optimization of intervention strategies in preterm infants. This review focuses on the research progress of the correlation between fine motor development in premature infants and brain MRI detection, aiming to provide new references for clinical evaluation and intervention strategies.
[Keywords] preterm birth；fine motor skills；magnetic resonance imaging；brain mantle；motor development

XU Zifei   WANG Bingyu   DU Meng   WANG Juanchao   LI Hongxin*  

Department of Neonatology, Affiliated Changzhou Children's Hospital of Nantong University, Changzhou 213000, China

Corresponding author: LI H X, E-mail: lhx3129@163.com

Conflicts of interest   None.

Received  2025-04-02
Accepted  2025-07-07
DOI: 10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2025.07.020
Cite this article as: XU Z F, WANG B Y, DU M, et al. Research progress of MRI on the development of cerebral cortex related to fine motor skills in preterm infants[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2025, 16(7): 124-128. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2025.07.020.

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