VIBeS: Victorian Infant Brain Study
Cognitive dysfunction and brain development in very preterm children – the VIBeS (Victorian Infant Brain Studies) Longitudinal Cohort Study. The VIBeS cohort is the world’s largest prospective longitudinal neuroimaging and neurodevelopmental study of very preterm and term children. This cohort has undergone brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at term equivalent age and seven years old, and neurodevelopmental assessments at two, five and seven years of age. The current study involves a 13-year follow-up of the VIBeS cohort and is seeking to better understand how cognitive skills develop in preterm children, and how brain injury and brain development underpin cognitive impairments. It aims to determine if cognitive impairments in preterm children worsen or improve with age, providing essential knowledge for diagnosis and management. It is also trying to determine whether neonatal MRI scans can predict cognitive deficits in preterm 13-year-olds, enhancing early detection and intervention for those at high risk. Finally, the study aims to describe brain atypicalities in preterm 13-year-olds and their association with cognitive deficits to aid our understanding of prematurity-related neuroplasticity.
* CA – Corrected Age (for prematurity)
| Year | 2001-2003 | 2001-2003 | 2003-2005 | 2006-2008 | 2008-2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wave | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Age | full term | preterm | 2 years CA * | 5 years CA * | 7 years CA * |
| # | 77 | 227 | |||
| Anthropometrics | Anthropometrics | ||||
| Behavioural problems | |||||
| Birth | Birth | ||||
| Demographics | |||||
| Education | |||||
| General health | |||||
| Language and literacy | |||||
| Medication | Medication | ||||
| Mental health | |||||
| MRI/fMRI | MRI/fMRI | ||||
| Neuro-cognitive assessment | |||||
| Nutrition | |||||
| Parenting | |||||
| Physical activity | Physical activity | ||||
| Pregnancy | |||||
| Puberty | |||||
| Relationships | Relationships | ||||
| Resilience and wellbeing | Resilience and wellbeing | ||||
| Ultrasound | |||||
| Linkage to other databases | |||||
| Study Summary | |
|---|---|
| Study name | VIBeS (Victorian Infant Brain Studies) Longitudinal Cohort Study |
| Study abbreviation | VIBeS |
| Current principal investigator/s | A/Professor Peter Anderson |
| Current project manager | A/Professor Peter Anderson |
| Primary Institution | Murdoch Children’s Research Institute |
| Collaborating Institution/s | The Royal Women’s Hospital |
| Major funding sources | National Health and Medical Research Council |
| Study website | https://www.mcri.edu.au/research/themes/clinical-sciences/victorian-infant-brain-studies-vibes |
| Are data available to others outside study team? | The data are not publicly available and is only available to team members and collaborators. Occasionally we will send data to experts outside the team for specific analyses/interpretation. |
| Study focus (e.g. social development) | Documenting the evolution of brain alterations and neurobehavioural impairments in premature infants. |
| Sampling frame | 227 preterm children (born < 30 weeks’ gestation or with birthweight < 1250 g) recruited from eligible admissions to the Royal Women’s Hospital, Melbourne (Australia; control sample of 76 term children (born 37 to 42 weeks’ gestation). |
| Study type (e.g. randomised control trial, cohort, case-control) | Longitudinal birth cohort study (case-control) |
| Year commenced | 2001 |
| Ongoing recruitment? | No |
| Commencement sample (N) | Preterm: 210 from birth Term: 47 from birth plus 43 from age 2 |
| Intergenerational (e.g. offspring)? | No |
| Imaging (e.g. fMRI, ultrasound, retinal photograph)? | Qualitative MRI 3-Dimensional Quantitative Volumetric Processing Diffusion Tensor MRI Functional connectivity MRI (fcMRI) Brain ultrasound |
| Linkage (e.g. BioGrid, VPDC, NAPLAN, Medicare)? | No |
| Biosamples (e.g. buccal, blood, hair)? | No |
| Ethics approvals or requirements (e.g. specific, extended, unspecified, other)? | This project only (Specific consent) |
| Year | Age (mean, range) | Eligible sample (not deceased, not withdrawn) |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 – 2003 | term assessed shortly after birth pre-term assessed at term equivalent age |
227 (pre-term) 46 (term) |
| 2003 – 2005 | 2 years (corrected age for pre-term) | 220 assessed (pre-term) 76 assessed (45 from birth term group plus 31 term controls recruited at 2 years) |
| 2006 – 2008 | 5 years (corrected age for pre-term) Pre-term – 60.5 months, Term – 64.0 months |
195 assessed (pre-term) 69 assessed (term) |
| 2008 – 2010 | 7 years (corrected age for pre-term) Pre-term – 7.5 years, Term – 7.6 years |
198 assessed (pre-term) 70 assessed (term) |
| 2014 – 2016 | 13 years (corrected age for pre-term) | Data not yet available |
Principal Investigator
A/Professor Peter Anderson
Senior Research Officer
Dr Karli Treyvaud
Research Nurse Coordinator
Merilyn Bear
merilyn.bear@mcri.edu.au
+613 9345 4836