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Annerine Roos

Possible papers associated with this exact author name in Arrow. This page groups case-insensitive exact name matches and is not a full identity disambiguation profile.

3 papers

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YNICL Journal 2025 Journal Article

The impact of prenatal alcohol and tobacco exposure on white matter integrity in 8–12-year-old children

Annerine Roos
Deborah Jonker
Eric Kan
Andrew T Marshall
Kirsten A Donald
Freda Scheffler
Lucy T Brink
Weslin Charles

The combined impact of prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) and prenatal tobacco exposure (PTE) on white-matter integrity in pre-adolescence is poorly understood. We aimed to explore white-matter integrity in children aged 8- to 12-years with PAE and/or PTE versus those without (controls, CON). Here, 410 children (CON: n = 84; PAE: n = 94; PTE: n = 67; PAE + PTE: n = 165) underwent diffusion tensor MRI as part of the Safe Passage Study, a cohort based in Cape Town, South Africa. Linear regression modeling was used to investigate the main and interaction effects of PAE and PTE. There were disordinal PAE × PTE interactions on right-cerebral-peduncle mean, axial, and radial diffusivity: Individuals with PAE and PTE had higher mean and axial diffusivity than those with either exposure on its own, but similar to those with neither. In children with PAE, there were associations with altered axial diffusivity among those exposed during the first trimester and mean, axial, and radial diffusivity in those exposed during the second trimester in commissural, association, and projection tracts. Further, there were PTE associations with fractional anisotropy and radial diffusivity in projection tracts among those exposed mainly during the second trimester. These results support previous research in children with PAE and add to the PTE literature, highlighting potentially lasting impact on axonal and myelin microstructural development, which are important for motor, sensory, cognitive, and behavioral functions. Our results suggest sensitivity to the timing of exposure of PAE and PTE, particularly during the first and second trimesters of pregnancy.

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YNICL Journal 2022 Journal Article

Subcortical brain volumes in young infants exposed to antenatal maternal depression: Findings from a South African birth cohort

Nynke A. Groenewold
Catherine J. Wedderburn
Jennifer A. Pellowski
Jean-Paul Fouché
Liza Michalak
Annerine Roos
Roger P. Woods
Katherine L. Narr

BACKGROUND: Several studies have reported enlarged amygdala and smaller hippocampus volumes in children and adolescents exposed to maternal depression. It is unclear whether similar volumetric differences are detectable in the infants' first weeks of life, following exposure in utero. We investigated subcortical volumes in 2-to-6 week old infants exposed to antenatal maternal depression (AMD) from a South African birth cohort. METHODS: AMD was measured with the Beck Depression Inventory 2nd edition (BDI-II) at 28-32 weeks gestation. T2-weighted structural images were acquired during natural sleep on a 3T Siemens Allegra scanner. Subcortical regions were segmented based on the University of North Carolina neonatal brain atlas. Volumetric estimates were compared between AMD-exposed (BDI-II ⩾ 20) and unexposed (BDI-II < 14) infants, adjusted for age, sex and total intracranial volume using analysis of covariance. RESULTS: Larger volumes were observed in AMD-exposed (N = 49) compared to unexposed infants (N = 75) for the right amygdala (1.93% difference, p = 0.039) and bilateral caudate nucleus (left: 5.79% difference, p = 0.001; right: 6.09% difference, p < 0.001). A significant AMD-by-sex interaction was found for the hippocampus (left: F(1,118) = 4.80, p = 0.030; right: F(1,118) = 5.16, p = 0.025), reflecting greater volume in AMD-exposed females (left: 5.09% difference, p = 0.001, right: 3.54% difference, p = 0.010), but not males. CONCLUSIONS: Volumetric differences in subcortical regions can be detected in AMD-exposed infants soon after birth, suggesting structural changes may occur in utero. Female infants might exhibit volumetric changes that are not observed in male infants. The potential mechanisms underlying these early volumetric differences, and their significance for long-term child mental health, require further investigation.

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YNIMG Journal 2020 Journal Article

Neuroimaging young children and associations with neurocognitive development in a South African birth cohort study

Catherine J. Wedderburn
Sivenesi Subramoney
Shunmay Yeung
Jean-Paul Fouche
Shantanu H. Joshi
Katherine L. Narr
Andrea M. Rehman
Annerine Roos

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an indispensable tool for investigating brain development in young children and the neurobiological mechanisms underlying developmental risk and resilience. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest proportion of children at risk of developmental delay worldwide, yet in this region there is very limited neuroimaging research focusing on the neurobiology of such impairment. Furthermore, paediatric MRI imaging is challenging in any setting due to motion sensitivity. Although sedation and anesthesia are routinely used in clinical practice to minimise movement in young children, this may not be ethical in the context of research. Our study aimed to investigate the feasibility of paediatric multimodal MRI at age 2–3 years without sedation, and to explore the relationship between cortical structure and neurocognitive development at this understudied age in a sub-Saharan African setting. A total of 239 children from the Drakenstein Child Health Study, a large observational South African birth cohort, were recruited for neuroimaging at 2–3 years of age. Scans were conducted during natural sleep utilising locally developed techniques. T1-MEMPRAGE and T2-weighted structural imaging, resting state functional MRI, diffusion tensor imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy sequences were included. Child neurodevelopment was assessed using the Bayley-III Scales of Infant and Toddler Development. Following 23 pilot scans, 216 children underwent scanning and T1-weighted images were obtained from 167/216 (77%) of children (median age 34. 8 months). Furthermore, we found cortical surface area and thickness within frontal regions were associated with cognitive development, and in temporal and frontal regions with language development (beta coefficient ≥0. 20). Overall, we demonstrate the feasibility of carrying out a neuroimaging study of young children during natural sleep in sub-Saharan Africa. Our findings indicate that dynamic morphological changes in heteromodal association regions are associated with cognitive and language development at this young age. These proof-of-concept analyses suggest similar links between the brain and cognition as prior literature from high income countries, enhancing understanding of the interplay between cortical structure and function during brain maturation.

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