White matter development and early cognition in babies and toddlers

O’Muircheartaigh, Jonathan; Dean, Douglas C.; Ginestet, Cedric E.; Walker, Lindsay; Waskiewicz, Nicole; Lehman, Katie; Dirks, Holly; Piryatinsky, Irene; Deoni, Sean

doi:10.1002/hbm.22488

Cited by 165 publications

(144 citation statements)

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“…This may be because the bulk of myelination has occurred by age 1 y and individual variation in cognitive development in the second year of life is less dependent on further maturation of myelin and more dependent on inherent structure reflected in AD. This notion is supported by a previous study that found only a very weak association of MWF, a myelin-related imaging parameter, with Mullen cognitive scores in young children (16). In addition, a similar study found MWF had more widespread correlations with ECL in 1-to 2-y-olds compared with 2-to 4.8-y-olds (15).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Common and heritable components of white matter microstructure predict cognitive function at 1 and 2 y

Lee

Steiner

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Previous studies indicate that the microstructure of individual white matter (WM) tracts is related to cognitive function. More recent studies indicate that the microstructure of individual tracts is highly correlated and that a property common across WM is related to overall cognitive function in adults. However, little is known about whether these common WM properties exist in early childhood development or how they are related to cognitive development. In this study, we used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to investigate common underlying factors in 12 fiber tracts, their relationship with cognitive function, and their heritability in a longitudinal sample of healthy children at birth (n = 535), 1 y (n = 322), and 2 y (n = 244) of age. Our data show that, in neonates, there is a highly significant correlation between major WM tracts that decreases from birth to 2 y of age. Over the same period, the factor structure increases in complexity, from one factor at birth to three factors at age 2 y, which explain 50% of variance. The identified common factors of DTI metrics in each age group are significantly correlated with general cognitive scores and predict cognitive ability in later childhood. These factors are moderately heritable. These findings illustrate the anatomical differentiation of WM fiber from birth to 2 y of age that correlate with cognitive development. Our results also suggest that the common factor approach is an informative way to study WM development and its relationship with cognition and is a useful approach for future imaging genetic studies.factor analysis | white matter | DTI | cognition | heritability I ndividual differences in white matter (WM) microstructure have been shown to be related to cognitive functions in adults (1, 2) and children (3-5). Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) parameters in different WM regions or tracts are variably associated with processing speed, general intelligence, and higher-order cognitive abilities (1-5).To date, the majority of DTI studies of WM microstructure have analyzed each tract or WM region independently. However, more recent studies clearly demonstrate that fractional anisotropy (FA) and other DTI metrics of WM microstructure correlate highly across WM tracts and across a wide age range, including neonates, older children, and adults (6-8). Furthermore, studies indicate that a general factor derived by principal component analyses (PCA) describing common variance in FA across WM tracts is associated with information processing speed (9) as well as general intelligence (10), at least in older adults. In children ages 8 to 16 y, three principal components of FA have been identified; the one corresponding to the corpus callosum was significantly related to IQ (11).The identification of one or more common WM factors that influence variation in multiple WM tracts or regions is important for several reasons. Such factors could prove to be a good target for imaging genetic studies, as one would expect genetic variants influencing WM development and function ...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

“…Two recent studies found that myelination, as measured by myelin water fraction (MWF), is predictive of general cognitive ability in young children (15,16). However, little is known about how intertract microstructural covariance develops in this period of rapid growth, and how it is related to cognitive development.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Common and heritable components of white matter microstructure predict cognitive function at 1 and 2 y

Lee

Steiner

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…Myelination is thus assumed to improve the functional efficiency of brain networks (van der Knaap et al, 1991). As examples, expressive and receptive language abilities during toddlerhood are related to the myelin water fraction in the white matter underlying the frontal and temporal cortices (O'Muircheartaigh et al, 2014), and visuospatial working memory performance at 1 year of age correlates with microstructural characteristics of white matter tracts that connect involved brain regions (Short et al, 2013).…”

Section: Functional Correlates Of White Matter Myelinationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of Structural and Functional Connectivity

Dubois¹,

Kostović²,

Judaš³

2015

Brain Mapping

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Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. GlossaryFiber myelination brain maturational mechanism corresponding to the ensheathment around neuronal axons of oligodendrocytes' processes that form the myelin sheaths. It leads to an increase in the conduction speed of the nerve impulse and progresses from the second part of pregnancy to the end of adolescence with a specific calendar across white matter bundles and cerebral regions.Subplate transient cerebral compartment containing the most differentiated postmigratory neurons, observed between the intermediate zone (fetal white matter) and the cortical plate between 13 PCW and around term age (still observed in the first postnatal months in some frontal association regions). AbbreviationsAF Arcuate fasciculus ALIC Anterior limb of the internal capsule CC Corpus callosum (g/b/s, genu/body/splenium) CG Cingulum (inf/sup, inferior/superior parts) CST Corticospinal tract (inf/mid/sup, inferior/middle/ superior portions) DSI Diffusion spectrum imaging DTI Diffusion tensor imaging DWI Diffusion-weighted imaging EC External capsule EEG Electroencephalography ERP Event-related potentials FA Fractional anisotropy fcMRI Functional connectivity MRI FX Fornix GA Gestational age GM Gray matter iFOF Inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus ILF Inferior longitudinal fasciculus MD Mean diffusivity MRI Magnetic resonance imaging OR Optic radiations PCW Postconceptional weeks SLF Superior longitudinal fasciculus STT Spinothalamic tract T 1 Longitudinal relaxation time T 1 w T 1 -weighted T 2 Transverse relaxation time T 2 w T 2 -weighted UF Uncinate fasciculus w GA Weeks of gestational age IntroductionDuring the early fetal period, there are few axonal pathways and synaptic connections already established in the human brain. Thus, starting with this period, we have a unique opportunity to follow the step-by-step, complex, but sequential development of cerebral connectivity, until all major connections become established in the late fetal (preterm) period. Even though the pathways' connectivity and the cortical circuitry are not fully established yet in preterm newborns, brain regions are organized early on into networks specialized to process sensorimotor and cognitive functions (Mahmoudzadeh et al., 2013). These functional networks further develop, mature, and refine until the end of adolescence. In this article, we aim to describe the early development of connectivity, from the fetal to the postnatal periods, as mapped in postmortem histological studies and in vivo MRI studies of fetuses, newborns, and infants. We successively detail (1) how the structural connectivity first develops, (2) how the white matter pathways then become myelinated and functionally mature, and (3) how functional connectivity emerges in the course of development.

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“…Particularly, the first two years of life may be key for the development of the EA network. A rapid exponential myelination growth takes place over frontal areas about the 6th month of life [38]. Cortical grey volume also increases substantially in the first two years of life, with a faster growth of frontal structures during the second year of age [39,40].…”

Section: Early Development Of the Ea Networkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early Development of Executive Attention

Conejero¹,

Rueda²

2017

J Child Adolesc Behav

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Executive attention (EA) encompasses a variety of attention mechanisms implicated in the control of thoughts and behavior. The emergence of EA skills depends on the maturation of frontal brain structures. Evidence in the past years has shown that frontal brain structures related to EA are already functional in the first months of life and first signs of EA can be observed by the second half of the first year of life. Given the importance of EA to a wide range of developmental outcomes (e.g. academic and professional outcomes, socialization, psychological wellbeing, etc.), understanding early stages of development is of great interest for the promotion of EA and the prevention of EA-related deficits over the course of development. Despite its relevance, relatively little is known about the development of EA before the preschool years. This paper aims at providing a selective review of the existing literature about the early development of EA. We present the principal measures of EA for infants and toddlers available to date. We also review main findings on behavioral as well as brain mechanisms of EA in infancy and toddlerhood. Finally, we summarize research on early indicators of EA and its implication for the early detection of some developmental disorders.

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White matter development and early cognition in babies and toddlers

Cited by 165 publications

References 72 publications

Common and heritable components of white matter microstructure predict cognitive function at 1 and 2 y

Common and heritable components of white matter microstructure predict cognitive function at 1 and 2 y

Development of Structural and Functional Connectivity

Early Development of Executive Attention

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