Right Forceps Minor and Anterior Thalamic Radiation Predict Executive Function Skills in Young Bilingual Adults

Abstract

Executive function (EF) skills enhance learning across domains, and are particularly linked to the acquisition of a second language. Previous studies have shown that bilingual individuals show enhanced EF skills in cognitive tasks where they attended a targeted dimension of a stimulus while inhibiting other competing cues. Brain imaging revealed that bilingual young adults’ performances in the Stroop color-naming task were related to the volume of anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and inferior frontal lobe. Subjects who had greater white-matter in the frontal cortex showed enhanced performances in the same task, suggesting that brain fiber pathways connecting ACC to the frontal region may be related to the Stroop color-naming task. No studies to date have examined the tissue properties of brain fiber pathways connecting these brain regions and their association with subjects’ EF performances. Importantly, there are no data establishing whether bilingual subjects exhibit different reaction times when words are presented in their first versus second language. To study these questions, we used behavioral and unbiased whole-brain analyses, recruiting 21 Chinese students. Using the Stroop color-naming task, we measured subjects’ reaction times (RTs) in which color names were displayed using fonts that matched the named color (congruent task) or mismatched the color (incongruent task). Students performed the task twice, first in English, the subjects’ second language, then in Chinese, the subjects’ primary language. Results from whole-brain analysis showed that students’ RTs in both the English and Chinese tasks were significantly correlated with the mode of anisotropy (MO) in a brain cluster containing the forceps minor and anterior thalamic radiation in the right hemisphere. We also found that fractional anisotropy (FA) significantly predicted students’ RTs, with higher FA predicting shorter RT. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that right forceps minor and anterior thalamic radiation predict EF skills, suggesting that this brain feature may be important for young bilingual adults using their first and second languages to direct their attention when conflicting cues are present.

Alterations in brain white matter microstructural properties in patients with Crohn’s disease in remission

“…Similar to our findings with disease duration, a study found that the ATR, CT, IFOF, ILF, SLF and its temporal portion, were associated with the duration of heroin use as well as with anxiety and depression scores 65 . The ATR, which connects the anterior and ventromedial nuclei of thalamus to the prefrontal cortex (including the anterior cingulate and dorsolateral frontal regions [66][67][68][69] ), is mainly related to sensorimotor 70,71 and also to executive function, working memory 72 and the levels of anxiety and depression 73 . The FMi, a commissure pathway connecting the bilateral frontal regions 66 , is associated with sensory and auditory processing 74 as well as emotional disorders 24 .…”

Gray and white matter morphology in substance use disorders: A neuroimaging systematic review and meta-analysis

“…The forceps minor connects the lateral and medial surfaces of the frontal lobes and crosses the midline via the genu of the corpus callosum 43 , and also showed structural alterations in occasional use. Along with the anterior thalamic radiation, the forceps minor connects ACC and striatum to the anterior frontal regions, modulating executive functions 59 .…”

Strength of Ventral Tegmental Area Connections With Left Caudate Nucleus Is Related to Conflict Monitoring

“…Previous studies using DTI have demonstrated that structural properties of cortico-cortical or cortico-subcortical connections are important for various cognitive functions (Klingberg et al, 2000;Johansen-Berg et al, 2007;Floel et al, 2009;Keller and Just, 2009;Blumenfeld-Katzir et al, 2011;Sagi et al, 2012;Qi et al, 2015;Mamiya et al, 2016Mamiya et al, , 2018. In those studies, individuals with better inhibitory control or enhanced learned skills show higher FA values in those connections.…”

“…To index the strength of brain connectivity, we computed fractional anisotropy (FA) from DTI. FA in cortico-cortical or subcorticocortical brain connections is related to a variety of cognitive functions and learning skills in children and adults (Klingberg et al, 2000;Tuch et al, 2005;Keller and Just, 2009;Forstmann et al, 2010Forstmann et al, , 2012Yeatman et al, 2012;Qi et al, 2015;Mamiya et al, 2016Mamiya et al, , 2018. It is heavily influenced by the structural properties of brain connections, including the coherence of neural pathways, the organization of fiber crossing in a local environment and the amount of myelination (Douaud et al, 2011).…”

“…It has been shown that better structural properties of brain connections are associated with higher FA. Individuals with higher FA exhibited improved reading skills (Keller and Just, 2009;Yeatman et al, 2012), better second language learning outcomes (Qi et al, 2015;Mamiya et al, 2016) and higher inhibitory control skills (Mamiya et al, 2018). Using FA, we wanted to examine whether the strength of the VTA connections to the left caudate nucleus or to the ACC was related to subjects' performance in the Flanker task.…”