Dataset Information

White matter properties differ in 6-year old Readers and Pre-readers.

ABSTRACT: Reading, an essential life skill in modern society, is typically learned during childhood. Adults who can read show white matter differences compared to adults who never learned to read. Studies have not established whether children who can read show similar white matter differences compared to children who cannot read. We compared 6-year old children who could decode written English words and pseudowords (n = 31; Readers) and 6-year old children who could not decode pseudowords and had a standard score <100 on a task for reading single words (n = 11; Pre-readers). We employed diffusion MRI and tractography to extract fractional anisotropy (FA) along the trajectory of six bilateral intra-hemispheric tracts and two posterior subdivisions of the corpus callosum. Readers demonstrated significantly increased FA within the left anterior segment of the superior longitudinal fasciculus (aSLF-L) and the right uncinate fasciculus (UF-R) compared to Pre-readers. FA in the aSLF-L was significantly correlated with phonological awareness; FA in the UF-R was significantly correlated with language. Correlations in the UF-R but not the aSLF-L remained significant after controlling for reading ability, revealing that UF-R group differences were related to both children's language and reading abilities. Taken together, these findings demonstrate new evidence showing that individual differences in white matter structure relate to whether children have begun to read.

SUBMITTER: Travis KE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5352545 | biostudies-literature | 2017 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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White matter properties differ in 6-year old Readers and Pre-readers.

Travis Katherine E KE Adams Jenna N JN Kovachy Vanessa N VN Ben-Shachar Michal M Feldman Heidi M HM

Brain structure & function 20160915 4

Reading, an essential life skill in modern society, is typically learned during childhood. Adults who can read show white matter differences compared to adults who never learned to read. Studies have not established whether children who can read show similar white matter differences compared to children who cannot read. We compared 6-year old children who could decode written English words and pseudowords (n = 31; Readers) and 6-year old children who could not decode pseudowords and had a standa ...[more]

PMID: 27631434

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Project description:AimTo assess associations between white matter properties and pre-reading skills (phonological awareness and receptive and expressive language) in children born preterm and at term at the onset of reading acquisition.MethodSix-year-old children born preterm (n=36; gestational age 22-32wks) and at term (n=43) underwent diffusion magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural assessments. Tracts were selected a priori based on findings from a study of 6-year-old children born at term: the left-hemisphere arcuate fasciculus and superior longitudinal fasciculus, and right-hemisphere uncinate fasciculus. Using linear regression, we assessed associations between fractional anisotropy of tracts and phonological awareness and receptive and expressive language scores. We investigated whether associations were moderated by prematurity.ResultsFractional anisotropy of the left-hemisphere arcuate fasciculus contributed unique variance to phonological awareness across birth groups. The association between fractional anisotropy of the right-hemisphere uncinate fasciculus and receptive and expressive language was significantly moderated by prematurity.InterpretationA left-hemisphere tract was associated with phonological awareness in both birth groups. A right-hemisphere tract was associated with language only in the term group, suggesting that expressive and receptive language is mediated by different white matter pathways in 6-year-old children born preterm. These findings provide novel insights into similarities and differences of the neurobiology of pre-reading skills between children born preterm and at term at reading onset.What this paper addsWhite matter properties and pre-reading abilities were associated in children born preterm at the onset of reading. The neurobiology of phonological awareness was similar in children born preterm versus children born at term at 6 years. The neurobiology of language was different in children born preterm versus children born at term at 6 years.

Project description:BackgroundCognitive outcomes in preterm (PT) children have been associated with microstructural properties of white matter. PT children who experienced neonatal inflammatory conditions have poorer cognitive outcomes than those who did not. The goal of this study was to contrast white matter microstructure and cognitive outcomes after preterm birth in relation to the presence or absence of severe inflammatory conditions in the neonatal period.MethodsPT children (n = 35), born at gestational age 22-32 weeks, were classified as either PT+ (n = 12) based on a neonatal history of inflammatory conditions, including bronchopulmonary dysplasia, necrotizing enterocolitis or culture positive sepsis, or PT- (n = 23) based on the absence of the three inflammatory conditions. Full term (FT) children (n = 43) served as controls. Participants underwent diffusion MRI and cognitive testing (intelligence, reading, and executive function) at age 6 years. The corpus callosum was segmented into 7 regions using deterministic tractography and based on the cortical projection zones of the callosal fibers. Mean fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) were calculated for each segment. General linear models with planned contrasts assessed group differences in FA, MD and cognitive outcomes. Pearson correlations assessed associations of white matter metrics and cognitive outcome measures.ResultsFA was significantly lower and MD was significantly higher in PT+ compared to PT- or FT groups in multiple callosal segments, even after adjusting for gestational age. Executive function scores, but not intelligence or reading scores, were less favorable in PT+ than in PT- groups. Among the entire sample, occipital FA was significantly correlated with IQ (r = 0.25, p < 0.05), reading (r = 0.32, p < 0.01), and executive function (r = -0.28, p < 0.05) measures. Anterior frontal FA and superior parietal FA were significantly correlated with executive function (r = -0.25, r = 0.23, respectively, p < 0.05).ConclusionsWe observed differences in the white matter microstructure of the corpus callosum and in the cognitive skills of 6-year-old PT children based on their history of neonatal inflammation. Neonatal inflammation is one medical factor that may contribute to variation in long-term neurobiological and neuropsychological outcomes in PT samples.

Project description:IntroductionThe underlying microstructural properties of white matter differences in children born very preterm (<32 weeks gestational age) can be investigated in depth using multi-shell diffusion imaging. The present study compared white matter across the whole brain using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) metrics in children born very preterm and full-term children at six years of age. We also investigated associations between white matter microstructure with early brain injury and developmental outcomes.MethodMulti-shell diffusion imaging, T1-weighted anatomical MR images and developmental assessments were acquired in 23 children born very preterm (16 males; mean scan age: 6.57 ± 0.34 years) and 24 full-term controls (10 males, mean scan age: 6.62 ± 0.37 years). DTI metrics were obtained and neurite orientation dispersion index (ODI) and density index (NDI) were estimated using the NODDI diffusion model. FSL's tract-based spatial statistics were performed on traditional DTI metrics and NODDI metrics. Voxel-wise comparisons were performed to test between-group differences and within-group associations with developmental outcomes (intelligence and visual motor abilities) as well as early white matter injury and germinal matrix/intraventricular haemorrhage (GMH/IVH).ResultsIn comparison to term-born children, the children born very preterm exhibited lower fractional anisotropy (FA) across many white matter regions as well as higher mean diffusivity (MD), radial diffusivity (RD), and ODI. Within-group analyses of the children born very preterm revealed associations between higher FA and NDI with higher IQ and VMI. Lower ODI was found within the corona radiata in those with a history of white matter injury. Within the full-term group, associations were found between higher NDI and ODI with lower IQ.ConclusionChildren born very preterm exhibit lower FA and higher ODI than full-term children. NODDI metrics provide more biologically specific information beyond DTI metrics as well as additional information of the impact of prematurity and white matter microstructure on cognitive outcomes at six years of age.

Project description:Primary lateral sclerosis is a sporadic disorder characterized by slowly progressive corticospinal dysfunction. Primary lateral sclerosis differs from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis by its lack of lower motor neuron signs and long survival. Few pathological studies have been carried out on patients with primary lateral sclerosis, and the relationship between primary lateral sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis remains uncertain. To detect in vivo structural differences between the two disorders, diffusion tensor imaging of white matter tracts was carried out in 19 patients with primary lateral sclerosis, 18 patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and 19 age-matched controls. Fibre tracking was used to reconstruct the intracranial portion of the corticospinal tract and three regions of the corpus callosum: the genu, splenium and callosal fibres connecting the motor cortices. Both patient groups had reduced fractional anisotropy, a measure associated with axonal organization, and increased mean diffusivity of the reconstructed corticospinal and callosal motor fibres compared with controls, without changes in the genu or splenium. Voxelwise comparison of the whole brain white matter using tract-based spatial statistics confirmed the differences between patients and controls in the diffusion properties of the corticospinal tracts and motor fibres of the callosum. This analysis further revealed differences in the regional distribution of white matter alterations between the patient groups. In patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the greatest reduction in fractional anisotropy occurred in the distal portions of the intracranial corticospinal tract, consistent with a distal axonal degeneration. In patients with primary lateral sclerosis, the greatest loss of fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity occurred in the subcortical white matter underlying the motor cortex, with reduced volume, suggesting tissue loss. Clinical measures of upper motor neuron dysfunction correlated with reductions in fractional anisotropy in the corticospinal tract in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and increased mean diffusivity and volume loss of the corticospinal tract in patients with primary lateral sclerosis. Changes in the diffusion properties of the motor fibres of the corpus callosum were strongly correlated with changes in corticospinal fibres in patients, but not in controls. These findings indicate that degeneration is not selective for corticospinal neurons, but affects callosal neurons within the motor cortex in motor neuron disorders.

Dataset Information

White matter properties differ in 6-year old Readers and Pre-readers.

Publications

White matter properties differ in 6-year old Readers and Pre-readers.

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