Temporal Dynamics of Brain White Matter Plasticity in Sighted Subjects during Tactile Braille Learning: A Longitudinal Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study

Molendowska, Malwina; Matuszewski, Jacek; Kossowski, Bartosz; Bola, Łukasz; Banaszkiewicz, Anna; Paplińska, Małgorzata; Jednoróg, Katarzyna; Draganski, Bogdan; Marchewka, Artur

doi:10.1523/jneurosci.2242-20.2021

Cited by 8 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 81 publications

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“…However, the structure-function relationship is known to be bidirectional, and training has been shown to induce changes in white matter properties (57). For example, increased FA in somatosensory and visual cortices followed tactile braille reading training (78), increased FA in the right IPS followed juggling training (79), and reduced MD in the left arcuate fasciculus followed intensive reading intervention (80). Thus, the findings of the current study, highlighting individual differences in structural and functional connectivity in the IPS-IFG circuit as potential neuromarkers of response inhibition, suggest that the IFG-IFG and IPS-IFG white matter tracts could be used as potential targets to study intervention outcomes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

White matter properties in fronto-parietal tracts predict maladaptive functional activation and deficient response inhibition in ADHD

Smullen

Bagshaw

Shalev

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Response inhibition, defined as the ability to suppress inappropriate responses, is a key characteristic of adaptive human behaviour. However, in individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) it is often impaired and is linked to broad life outcomes. Previous neuroimaging investigations have indicated a myriad of brain networks in response inhibition, which limit its utility in understanding and overcoming response inhibition difficulties. More recently, it has been suggested that a specific fronto-parietal functional circuitry between the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and the intraparietal sulcus (IPS), dictates the recruitment of the IPS in response inhibition in ADHD. To ascertain the critical role of the IFG-IPS functional circuit and its relevance to response inhibition in ADHD, it is crucial to understand the underlying structural architecture of this circuit so that the functional relevance could be interpreted correctly. Here we investigated the white matter pathways connecting the IFG and IPS using seed-based probabilistic tractography on diffusion data in 42 ADHD and 24 neurotypicals and assessed their impact on both the recruitment of IPS in response inhibition scenarios and on response inhibition performance in a Go/No-go task. Our results showed that individual differences in the structural properties of the IPS-IFG circuit, including tract volume and diffusivity, were linked to IPS activation and even predicted response inhibition performance outside the scanner. These findings highlight the structural-functional coupling of the IFG-IPS circuit in response inhibition in ADHD and confirm a structural basis for maladaptive functional top-down control in deficient inhibition in ADHD. Our results also support the notion of ADHD as a continuum and suggest that individual differences in tract-specific functional and structural connectivity could serve as neuromarkers of ADHD.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

White matter properties in fronto-parietal tracts predict maladaptive functional activation and deficient response inhibition in ADHD

Smullen

Bagshaw

Shalev

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Older adults showed similar changes, along with increased hippocampal gray matter (Boyke et al, 2008 ). A recent study showed increases in white-matter fractional anisotropy in the somatosensory and visual cortex that covaried with behavioral improvement among novices during 8 months of training on tactile braille reading (Molendowska et al, 2021 ). London taxi drivers, whose jobs require them to memorize numerous complicated routes and locations, were found to have hippocampi whose size was directly proportional to their number of years of experience and, hence their age (Maguire et al, 2000 ).…”

Section: How Interventions Can Potentially Accelerate or Decelerate B...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Horizons in Human Aging Neuroscience: From Normal Neural Aging to Mental (Fr)Agility

Ridderinkhof

Krugers

2022

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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While aging is an important risk factor for neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, age-related cognitive decline can also manifest without apparent neurodegenerative changes. In this review, we discuss molecular, cellular, and network changes that occur during normal aging in the absence of neurodegenerative disease. Emerging findings reveal that these changes include metabolic alterations, oxidative stress, DNA damage, inflammation, calcium dyshomeostasis, and several other hallmarks of age-related neural changes that do not act on their own, but are often interconnected and together may underlie age-related alterations in brain plasticity and cognitive function. Importantly, age-related cognitive decline may not be reduced to a single neurobiological cause, but should instead be considered in terms of a densely connected system that underlies age-related cognitive alterations. We speculate that a decline in one hallmark of neural aging may trigger a decline in other, otherwise thus far stable subsystems, thereby triggering a cascade that may at some point also incur a decline of cognitive functions and mental well-being. Beyond studying the effects of these factors in isolation, considerable insight may be gained by studying the larger picture that entails a representative collection of such factors and their interactions, ranging from molecules to neural networks. Finally, we discuss some potential interventions that may help to prevent these alterations, thereby reducing cognitive decline and mental fragility, and enhancing mental well-being, and healthy aging.

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“…From a treatment perspective, the induction of changes in cognition and behaviour can alter brain WM. 22 , 23 Neuroimaging studies have reported changes in WM microstructure following specific training paradigms in motor, 24 , 25 tactile 26 and memory domains. 27 , 28 These findings suggest that WM microstructure, quantified using DTI, dynamically responds to specific training and learning protocols, across different timescales.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of brain white matter in depression resilience and response to sleep interventions

Bresser

Leerssen

Hölsken

et al. 2023

Brain Communications

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Insomnia poses a high risk for depression. Brain mechanisms of sleep and mood improvement following cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia remain elusive. This longitudinal study evaluated whether: 1) individual differences in baseline brain white matter microstructure predict improvements and 2) intervention affects brain white matter microstructure. People meeting the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5 criteria for Insomnia Disorder (n=117) participated in a randomized controlled trial comparing 6 weeks of no treatment with therapist-guided digital cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, circadian rhythm support, or their combination (cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia + circadian rhythm support). Insomnia severity index and inventory of depressive symptomatology – self report were assessed at baseline and followed up at week 7, 26, 39 and 52. Diffusion weighted magnetic resonance images were acquired at baseline and week 7. Skeletonized white matter tracts, fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity, were quantified both tract-wise and voxel-wise using tract-based spatial statistics. Analyses used linear and mixed-effect models while correcting for multiple testing using false discovery rate and Bonferroni for correlated endpoint measures. Our results show: 1) tract-wise lower fractional anisotropy in the left retrolenticular part of the internal capsule at baseline predicted both worse progression of depressive symptoms in untreated participants as well as more improvement in treated participants (fractional anisotropy x any intervention, pFDR=0.053, pcorr=0.045). 2) Only the cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia + circadian rhythm support intervention induced a trend-level mean diffusivity decrease in the right superior corona radiata (pFDR = 0.128, pcorr = 0.108), and individuals with a stronger mean diffusivity decrease showed a stronger alleviation of insomnia (R = 0.20, p = 0.035). In summary, individual differences in risk and treatment-supported resilience of depression involve white matter microstructure. Future studies could target the role of the left retrolenticular part of the internal capsule and right superior corona radiata and the brain areas they connect.

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Temporal Dynamics of Brain White Matter Plasticity in Sighted Subjects during Tactile Braille Learning: A Longitudinal Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study

Cited by 8 publications

References 81 publications

White matter properties in fronto-parietal tracts predict maladaptive functional activation and deficient response inhibition in ADHD

White matter properties in fronto-parietal tracts predict maladaptive functional activation and deficient response inhibition in ADHD

Horizons in Human Aging Neuroscience: From Normal Neural Aging to Mental (Fr)Agility

The role of brain white matter in depression resilience and response to sleep interventions

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