White matter in infancy is prospectively associated with language outcomes in kindergarten

Zuk, Jennifer; Yu, Xianchuan; Sanfilippo, Joseph S.; Figuccio, Michael J.; Dunstan, Jade; Carruthers, Clarisa; Sideridis, Georgios D.; Turesky, Ted K.; Gagoski, Borjan; Grant, P. Ellen; Gaab, Nadine

doi:10.1016/j.dcn.2021.100973

Cited by 30 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 79 publications

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“…In the present study, we show that the home literacy environment (HLE), as measured with the Reading subscale of the StimQ, correlates with white matter organization in the left superior longitudinal fasciculus and partially mediates the relationship between socioeconomic status and left SLF white matter fractional anisotropy (FA). Along with previous work showing that white matter in infancy relates to later language outcomes (Zuk et al, 2021), these findings offer a neurobiological mechanism to the corpus of behavioral literature linking HLE during infancy and toddlerhood to pre-literacy and language development (Karrass and Braungart-Rieker, 2005; Laakso et al, 1999; Malin et al, 2014; Muhinyi and Rowe, 2019; Schmitt et al, 2011). Further, the finding of an environmental factor relating literacy to white matter organization (independent of familial transmission as measured by self-reported maternal reading ability) complements previous reports showing that familial risk of reading difficulty (which did not relate to HLE in their cohort) was related to white matter organization in infancy (Langer et al, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

“…Similar to previous studies (Langer et al, 2017; Zuk et al, 2021), whole-brain tractography was computed using a deterministic streamline tracking algorithm, whereby fiber tracking was terminated in instances where estimated FA was below a threshold value of 0.15 and the angle between the last path segment and the next direction was greater than 40°. Region of interest (ROI)-based fiber tract segmentation and fiber-tract cleaning were then employed using a statistical outlier rejection algorithm.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Second, relations to FA for nodes along each tract of interest (i.e., SLF and AF) were done according to partial correlations (adjusting for infant age at the time of scan and self-reported maternal reading ability) for StimQ-Reading scores and semipartial correlations for maternal education. Significance testing was done using non-parametric bootstrapping to simulate the sampling distribution in the general population to ensure proper evaluation of effect sizes (Zuk et al, 2021). This approach involved simulating the population distribution based on partial (for StimQ-Reading) or semipartial (for maternal education) using 5000 replicated samples with replacement from the original sample (Nichols and Holmes, 2002).…”

Section: Statistical Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Home literacy environment mediates the relationship between socioeconomic status and white matter structure in infants

Turesky¹,

Sanfilippo

Zuk

et al. 2021

Preprint

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The home literacy environment (HLE) in infancy has been associated with subsequent pre-literacy skill development and HLE at pre-school age has been shown to correlate with white matter organization in tracts that subserve prereading and reading skills. Furthermore, childhood socioeconomic status (SES) has been linked with both HLE and white matter organization. It is also important to understand whether the relationships between environmental factors such as HLE and SES and white matter organization can be detected as early as infancy, as this period is characterized by rapid brain development that may make white matter pathways particularly susceptible to these early experiences. Here, we hypothesized (1) an association between HLE and white matter organization in pre-reading and reading-related tracts in infants, and (2) that this association mediates a link between SES and white matter organization. To test these hypotheses, infants (mean age: 9.2 ± 2.5 months, N = 18) underwent diffusion-weighted imaging MRI during natural sleep. Fractional anisotropy (FA) was estimated from the left superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) and left arcuate fasciculus using the automated fiber-tract quantification method. HLE was measured with the Reading subscale of the StimQ and SES was measured with years of maternal education. Self-reported maternal reading ability was also quantified and applied to all statistical models to control for confounding genetic effects. The Reading subscale of the StimQ positively related to FA in left SLF and mediated the association between maternal education and FA in the left SLF. Taken together, these findings underscore the importance of considering HLE from the start of life and may inform novel prevention and intervention strategies targeted at low-SES families to support developing infants during a period of heightened brain plasticity.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Statistical Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Home literacy environment mediates the relationship between socioeconomic status and white matter structure in infants

Turesky¹,

Sanfilippo

Zuk

et al. 2021

Preprint

Self Cite

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“…Ample research suggests that the foundations of behavior in toddlerhood and beyond are present in neonate/early infant brain characteristics ( Chen et al, 2021 , Dickinson et al, 2021 , Girault et al, 2019 , Girault et al, 2019 ; Liu et al, 2021 ; Overfeld et al, 2020 ; Saha et al, 2020 ; Salzwedel et al, 2019 ; Short et al, 2019 ; Sket et al, 2019 ; Thomas et al, 2019 ; Zuk et al, 2021 ). Perhaps most importantly, infant neuroimaging data may also be able to predict neurodevelopmental disorders (such as autism spectrum disorder or dyslexia) years before reliable diagnoses can be made ( Emerson et al, 2017 , Hazlett et al, 2012 , Hazlett et al, 2017 , Langer et al, 2015 ).…”

Section: Grant Reviewers: Questions About Study Planning and Data Acquisitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dear reviewers: Responses to common reviewer critiques about infant neuroimaging studies

Korom

Camacho

Filippi

et al. 2022

Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience

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The field of adult neuroimaging relies on well-established principles in research design, imaging sequences, processing pipelines, as well as safety and data collection protocols. The field of infant magnetic resonance imaging, by comparison, is a young field with tremendous scientific potential but continuously evolving standards. The present article aims to initiate a constructive dialog between researchers who grapple with the challenges and inherent limitations of a nascent field and reviewers who evaluate their work. We address 20 questions that researchers commonly receive from research ethics boards, grant, and manuscript reviewers related to infant neuroimaging data collection, safety protocols, study planning, imaging sequences, decisions related to software and hardware, and data processing and sharing, while acknowledging both the accomplishments of the field and areas of much needed future advancements. This article reflects the cumulative knowledge of experts in the FIT’NG community and can act as a resource for both researchers and reviewers alike seeking a deeper understanding of the standards and tradeoffs involved in infant neuroimaging.

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“…Children born PT are at increased risk for language-related deficits, including poor literacy outcomes, compared to their full-term (FT) peers Guarini et al, 2010;Sansavini et al, 2011). Moreover, PT birth is associated with injury to white matter tracts in the brain and characteristics of white matter pathways is associated with clinical language outcomes in toddlerhood (Dubner et al, 2020) as well as in prekindergarten (Zuk et al, 2021).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Associations between early efficiency in language processing and learning outcomes in children born full term and preterm: Similarities and differences

Marchman¹,

Ashland²,

Loi³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Associations between children’s early language processing efficiency and later language, literacy, and non-verbal outcomes shed light on the extent to which early information processing skills support later learning across domains. Examining whether the strengths of associations are similar in typically developing and at risk populations provides an additional lens into the varying routes to learning that children take across development. We compared patterns of associations between early language processing efficiency (accuracy and reaction time) in the looking-while-listening (LWL) task and school-relevant skills in children born full-term (FT) and preterm (PT). Participants (n=94, 49 FT, 45 PT) were assessed in the LWL task at 18 months (corrected for degree of prematurity in PT group) and on standardized tests of expressive language, pre-literacy (print knowledge and phonological awareness), and non-verbal IQ at 4 ½ years. Early language processing efficiency was associated with later language and pre-literacy outcomes (r2 change ranged from 19.8 to 7.1, p < 0.01) to a similar extent in PT and FT children, controlling for age at test and SES, suggesting similar mechanisms of learning in these domains for PT and FT children. However, birth group moderated the association between reaction time and non-verbal IQ (r2 change 4.5, p < 0.05), such that an association was found in the PT but not the FT group. This finding suggests that information processing skills reflected in efficiency of real-time language processing may be recruited to support learning in a broader range of domains in the PT compared to the FT group.

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White matter in infancy is prospectively associated with language outcomes in kindergarten

Cited by 30 publications

References 79 publications

Home literacy environment mediates the relationship between socioeconomic status and white matter structure in infants

Home literacy environment mediates the relationship between socioeconomic status and white matter structure in infants

Dear reviewers: Responses to common reviewer critiques about infant neuroimaging studies

Associations between early efficiency in language processing and learning outcomes in children born full term and preterm: Similarities and differences

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