Phenotypic and Genetic Correlations Between the Lobar Segments of the Inferior Fronto-occipital Fasciculus and Attention

Abstract

Attention deficits may present dysfunctions in any one or two components of attention (alerting, orienting, and executive control (EC)). However, these various forms of attention deficits generally have abnormal microstructure integrity of inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF). In this work, we aim to deeply explore: (1) associations between microstructure integrities of IFOF (including frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital, and insular segments) and attention by means of structural equation models and multiple regression analyses; (2) genetic/environmental effects on IFOF, attention, and their correlations using bivariate genetic analysis. EC function was attributed to the fractional anisotropy (FA) of left (correlation was driven by genetic and environmental factors) and right IFOF (correlation was driven by environmental factors), especially to left frontal part and right occipital part (correlation was driven by genetic factors). Alerting was associated with FA in parietal and insular parts of left IFOF. No significant correlation was found between orienting and IFOF. This study revealed the advantages of lobar-segmental analysis in structure-function correlation study and provided the anatomical basis for kinds of attention deficits. The common genetic/environmental factors implicated in the certain correlations suggested the common physiological mechanisms for two traits, which should promote the discovery of single-nucleotide polymorphisms affecting IFOF and attention.

White matter microstructure is associated with hyperactive/inattentive symptomatology and polygenic risk for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in a population-based sample of adolescents

“…Reduced FA within the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus represents a consistent finding among diffusion imaging studies of adult ADHD [45][46][47]. In a recent study, Leng et al [48] employed structural equation modeling in order to assess associations between FA within the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus and attention. Executive control of attention was particularly tied to FA in the frontal component of the left inferior fronto-occipital tract, whereas alerting was associated with FA in the insular and parietal components of the left inferior fronto-occipital tract.…”

White Matter Changes With Rehabilitation in Children With Developmental Coordination Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…These regions are involved in various forms of attention-and self-regulation. The inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus guides sustained attention and other executive control functions (Leng et al, 2016 ). It is the only tract with a rightward asymmetry in our result, which is consistent with the right asymmetry for sustained attention (Pardo et al, 1991 ).…”

Cerebral White Matter Myelination and Relations to Age, Gender, and Cognition: A Selective Review

“…Diffusion MRI tractography studies suggest the role of the IFOF in semantic and visual processing and attention ( Catani and Thiebaut de Schotten, 2008 ; Leng et al, 2016 ). In particular, bilateral IFOF (especially in the left frontal and right occipital parts) is implicated in the maintenance of executive functions, whereas the parietal and insular parts of the left IFOF are involved in alerting ( Leng et al, 2016 ). Higher FA in the IFOF predicts better reading scores ( Lebel et al, 2013 ), and FA in the left IFOF is related to better orthographic processing ( Vandermosten et al, 2012 ).…”