Development of white matter microstructure and executive functions during childhood and adolescence: a review of diffusion MRI studies

Goddings, Anne-Lise; Roalf, David R.; Lebel, Catherine; Tamnes, Christian K.

doi:10.31234/osf.io/kyxbq

Cited by 3 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 100 publications

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“…Altogether, both microstructural (FD) and morphological changes (FC) may allow for more efficient signaling between distributed fronto-parietal and temporal regions that are critical for executive function. This result adds to prior work reporting associations between executive function and localized increases in white matter integrity in relatively small samples (8). Furthermore, it directly coheres with observations that greater cortical representation of association networks is linked to better general cognition in youth (49,50) and suggests that the expansion of white matter underlying limbic and association cortex may contribute to these findings.…”

Section: Association Covariance Network Are Linked To Executive Functionsupporting

confidence: 83%

“…Executive function is known to undergo considerable improvements during adolescence and young adulthood (5-7), and evidence from DTI studies suggests that these improvements are linked to white matter microstructural development (8). Based on these findings, we next examined whether variation in fiber covariance networks was related to differences in executive function.…”

Section: Executive Function Is Associated With Variation In Fiber Cov...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cognition also develops rapidly during this period, with executive function undergoing a particularly protracted improvement throughout adolescence and young adulthood (5)(6)(7). The maturation of white matter architecture is thought to facilitate the efficient and coordinated relay of information between brain regions and to support the development of executive function (8). Quantifying how development of white matter structure supports executive function is a critical prerequisite for normative accounts of brain development as well as for studies of youth-onset psychiatric disorders that are characterized by both deficits in executive functions (9,10) and differences within white matter (11).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Development of White Matter Fiber Covariance Networks Supports Executive Function in Youth

Bagautdinova¹,

Bourque²,

Sydnor³

et al. 2023

Preprint

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The white matter architecture of the human brain undergoes substantial development throughout childhood and adolescence, allowing for more efficient signaling between brain regions that support executive function. Increasingly, the field understands grey matter development as a spatially and temporally coordinated mechanism that follows hierarchically organized gradients of change. While white matter development also appears asynchronous, previous studies have largely relied on anatomical atlases to characterize white matter tracts, precluding a direct assessment of how white matter structure is spatially and temporally coordinated. Here, we leveraged advances in diffusion modeling and unsupervised machine learning to delineate white matter fiber covariance networks comprised of structurally similar areas of white matter in a cross-sectional sample of 939 youth aged 8-22 years. We then evaluated associations between fiber covariance network structural properties with both age and executive function using generalized additive models. The identified fiber covariance networks aligned with the known architecture of white matter while simultaneously capturing novel spatial patterns of coordinated maturation. Fiber covariance networks showed heterochronous increases in fiber density and cross section that generally followed hierarchically organized temporal patterns of cortical development, with the greatest increases in unimodal sensorimotor networks and the most prolonged increases in superior and anterior transmodal networks. Notably, we found that executive function was associated with structural features of limbic and association networks. Taken together, this study delineates data-driven patterns of white matter network development that support cognition and align with major axes of brain maturation.

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Section: Association Covariance Network Are Linked To Executive Functionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Section: Executive Function Is Associated With Variation In Fiber Cov...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Development of White Matter Fiber Covariance Networks Supports Executive Function in Youth

Bagautdinova¹,

Bourque²,

Sydnor³

et al. 2023

Preprint

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“…Our finding hints at a possible mediator role of healthy brain microstructure on the fitness-cognition mode of covariation, independent of socioeconomic status. The association between white-matter microstructure and either executive functions and academic achievements, or active lifestyle markers (i.e., physical activity and physical fitness), both during childhood and adolescence, is well established from previous studies [71][72][73][74][75] . Several studies have shown a significant association of cardiorespiratory fitness 69,70 and physical activity 66 with higher FA in sections of the corpus callosum.…”

Section: Mediation Role Of Brain Microstructurementioning

confidence: 92%

Multimodal neuroimaging correlates of physical-cognitive covariation in Chilean adolescents. The Cogni-Action Project

Cristi-Montero

Johansen‐Berg

Salvan

2022

Preprint

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Health-related behaviours have been related to brain structural features; however, most literature in this domain comes from developed countries. In developing settings, such as Latin America, high social inequality is associated inversely with several health-related behaviours affecting brain development. Understanding the relationship between health behaviours and brain structure in such settings is particularly important during adolescence when key habits are acquired and ingrained. In this cross-sectional study, we carry out a multimodal analysis identifying a brain region associated with health-related behaviours (i.e., fatness, fitness, sleep problems and others) and cognitive/academic performance independent of socioeconomic status in a large sample of Chilean adolescents. Our findings suggest that the relationship between health behaviours and cognitive/academic performance involves a particular brain phenotype that could play a mediator role. These findings raise the possibility of promoting healthy behaviours in adolescence as a means to influence brain structure and thereby cognitive/academic achievement, independently of socioeconomic factors.

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“…Adolescence is a period of rapid brain development including axonal growth, myelination and synaptic pruning. These changes are reflected in studies of structural connectivity and correlate with improved executive function (Goddings et al, 2021). In TD youth (8–20 years), functional and structural connectivity of the thalamus with prefrontal and parietal cortex increases with age, while temporal, sensorimotor and occipital cortices show an age‐related decrease in connectivity, presumably reflecting circuit refinement (Alkonyi et al, 2011; Huang et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increased resting‐state thalamocortical functional connectivity in children and young adults with autism spectrum disorder

et al. 2022

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There is converging evidence that abnormal thalamocortical interactions contribute to attention deficits and sensory sensitivities in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, previous functional MRI studies of thalamocortical connectivity in ASD have produced inconsistent findings in terms of both the direction (hyper vs. hypoconnectivity) and location of group differences. This may reflect, in part, the confounding effects of head motion during scans. In the present study, we investigated resting-state thalamocortical functional connectivity in 8-25 yearolds with ASD and their typically developing (TD) peers. We used pre-scan training, on-line motion correction, and rigorous data quality assurance protocols to minimize motion confounds. ASD participants showed increased thalamic connectivity with temporal cortex relative to TD. Both groups showed similar agerelated decreases in thalamic connectivity with occipital cortex, consistent with a process of circuit refinement. Findings of thalamocortical hyperconnectivity in ASD are consistent with other evidence that decreased thalamic inhibition leads to increase and less filtered sensory information reaching the cortex where it disrupts attention and contributes to sensory sensitivity. This literature motivates studies of mechanisms, functional consequences, and treatment of thalamocortical circuit dysfunction in ASD. Lay SummaryThe thalamus is a deep brain structure that receives information from the senses and amplifies or inhibits its relay to the cortex via thalamocortical circuits. Using functional brain imaging, we found increased communication between the thalamus and specific cortical regions in children and young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared with their typically developing peers. We hypothesize that increased thalamocortical communication in ASD reflects reduced thalamic inhibition of irrelevant sensory information from being relayed to the cortex, and contributes to attention deficits and sensory sensitivities.

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Development of white matter microstructure and executive functions during childhood and adolescence: a review of diffusion MRI studies

Cited by 3 publications

References 100 publications

Development of White Matter Fiber Covariance Networks Supports Executive Function in Youth

Development of White Matter Fiber Covariance Networks Supports Executive Function in Youth

Multimodal neuroimaging correlates of physical-cognitive covariation in Chilean adolescents. The Cogni-Action Project

Increased resting‐state thalamocortical functional connectivity in children and young adults with autism spectrum disorder

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