Brain White Matter Integrity Mediates the Relationship Between Phenylalanine Control and Executive Abilities in Children with Phenylketonuria.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Hood A
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5413446 | biostudies-other | 2017
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other
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Project description:BackgroundDyskinetic cerebral palsy (CP) is one of the most disabling motor types of CP and has been classically associated with injury to the basal ganglia and thalamus. Although cognitive dysfunction is common in CP, there is a paucity of published quantitative analyses investigating the relationship between white matter (WM) microstructure and cognition in this CP type.AimsThis study aims (1) to compare brain WM microstructure between people with dyskinetic CP and healthy controls, (2) to identify brain regions where WM microstructure is related to intelligence and (3) to identify brain regions where WM microstructure is related to executive function in people with dyskinetic CP and (4) to identify brain regions where the correlations are different between controls and people with CP in IQ and executive functions.Patients and methodsThirty-three participants with dyskinetic CP (mean ± SD age: 24.42 ± 12.61, 15 female) were age and sex matched with 33 controls. Participants underwent a comprehensive neuropsychological battery to assess intelligence quotient (IQ) and four executive function domains (attentional control, cognitive flexibility, goal setting and information processing). Diffusion weighted MRI scans were acquired at 3T. Voxel-based whole brain groupwise analyses were used to compare fractional anisotropy (FA) and of the CP group to the matched controls using a general lineal model. Further general linear models were used to identify regions where white matter FA correlated with IQ and each of the executive function domains.ResultsWhite matter FA was significantly reduced in the CP group in all cerebral lobes, predominantly in regions connected with the parietal and to a lesser extent the temporal lobes. There was no significant correlation between IQ or any of the four executive function domains and WM microstructure in the control group. In participants with CP, lower IQ was associated with lower FA in all cerebral lobes, predominantly in locations that also showed reduced FA compared to controls. Attentional control, goal setting and information processing did not correlate with WM microstructure in the CP group. Cognitive flexibility was associated with FA in regions known to contain connections with the frontal lobe (such as the superior longitudinal fasciculus and cingulum) as well as regions not known to contain tracts directly connected with the frontal lobe (such as the posterior corona radiata, posterior thalamic radiation, retrolenticular part of internal capsule, tapetum, body and splenium of corpus callosum).ConclusionThe widespread loss in the integrity of WM tissue is mainly located in the parietal lobe and related to IQ in dyskinetic CP. Unexpectedly, executive functions are only related with WM microstructure in regions containing fronto-cortical and posterior cortico-subcortical pathways, and not being specifically related to the state of fronto-striatal pathways which might be due to brain reorganization. Further studies of this nature may improve our understanding of the neurobiological bases of cognitive impairments after early brain insult.
| S-EPMC5496484 | biostudies-literature
Project description:IntroductionLower socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with poorer executive function, but the neural mechanisms of this association remain unclear. As healthy brain communication is essential to our cognitive abilities, white matter integrity may be key to understanding socioeconomic disparities.MethodsParticipants were 201 African American and White adults (ages 33-72) from the Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Life Span (HANDLS) SCAN study. Diffusion tensor imaging was used to estimate regional fractional anisotropy as a measure of white matter integrity. Adjusting for age, analyses examined if integrity of the anterior limb of the internal capsule (ALIC), external capsule (EC), superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), and cingulum mediated SES-executive function relations.ResultsLower SES was related to poorer cognitive performance and white matter integrity. Lower Trails B performance was related to poorer integrity of the ALIC, EC, and SLF, and lower Stroop performance was associated with poorer integrity of the ALIC and EC. ALIC mediated the SES-Trails B relation, and EC mediated the SES-Trails B and SES-Stroop relations. Sensitivity analyses revealed that (1) adjustment for race rendered the EC mediations non-significant, (2) when using poverty status and continuous education as predictors, results were largely the same, (3) at least some of the study's findings may generalize to processing speed, (4) mediations are not age-dependent in our sample, and (5) more research is needed to understand the role of cardiovascular risk factors in these models.DiscussionFindings demonstrate that poorer white matter integrity helps explain SES disparities in executive function and highlight the need for further clarification of the biopsychosocial mechanisms of the SES-cognition association.
| S-EPMC9716285 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundA growing body of evidence links socioeconomic status (SES) to children's brain structure. Few studies, however, have specifically investigated relations of SES to white matter structure. Further, although several studies have demonstrated that family SES is related to development of brain areas that support executive functions (EF), less is known about the role that white matter structure plays in the relation of SES to EF. One possibility is that white matter differences may partially explain SES disparities in EF (i.e., a mediating relationship). Alternatively, SES may differentially shape brain-behavior relations such that the relation of white matter structure to EF may differ as a function of SES (i.e., a moderating relationship).MethodIn a diverse sample of 1082 children and adolescents aged 3-21 years, we examined socioeconomic disparities in white matter macrostructure and microstructure. We further investigated relations between family SES, children's white matter volume and integrity in tracts supporting EF, and performance on EF tasks.ResultsSocioeconomic status was associated with fractional anisotropy (FA) and volume in multiple white matter tracts. Additionally, family income moderated the relation between white matter structure and cognitive flexibility. Specifically, across multiple tracts of interest, lower FA or lower volume was associated with reduced cognitive flexibility among children from lower income families. In contrast, children from higher income families showed preserved cognitive flexibility in the face of low white matter FA or volume. SES factors did not mediate or moderate links between white matter and either working memory or inhibitory control.ConclusionsThis work adds to a growing body of literature suggesting that the socioeconomic contexts in which children develop not only shape cognitive functioning and its underlying neurobiology, but may also shape the relations between brain and behavior.
| S-EPMC5064342 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundStudies have investigated white matter microstructure in relation to late-life cognitive impairments, with fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) measures thought to capture demyelination and axonal degradation. However, new post-processing methods allow isolation of free water (FW), which captures extracellular fluid contributions such as atrophy and neuroinflammation, from tissue components. FW also appears to be highly relevant to late-life cognitive impairment. Here, we evaluated whether executive functions are associated with FW, and FA and MD corrected for FW (FAFWcorr and MDFWcorr).MethodWe examined 489 non-demented men in the Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging (VETSA) at mean age 68. Two latent factors capturing 'common executive function' and 'working-memory specific' processes were estimated based on 6 tasks. Analyses focused on 11 cortical white matter tracts across three metrics: FW, FAFWcorr, and MDFWcorr.ResultsBetter 'common executive function' was associated with lower FW across 9 of the 11 tracts. There were no significant associations with intracellular metrics after false discovery rate correction. Effects also appeared driven by individuals with MCI (13.7% of the sample). Working memory-specific tasks showed some associations with FAFWcorr, including the triangularis portion of the inferior frontal gyrus. There was no evidence that cognitive reserve (i.e., general cognitive ability assessed in early adulthood) moderated these associations between executive function and FW or FA.DiscussionExecutive function abilities in early old age are associated primarily with extracellular fluid (FW) as opposed to white matter (FAFWcorr or MDFWcorr). Moderation analyses suggested cognitive reserve does not play a strong role in these associations, at least in this sample of non-demented men.
| S-EPMC9731853 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Phenylketonuria (PKU) is a recessive disorder characterized by disruption in the metabolism of the amino acid phenylalanine (Phe). Prior research indicates that individuals with PKU have substantial white matter (WM) compromise. Much less is known about gray matter (GM) in PKU, but a small body of research suggests volumetric differences compared to controls. To date, developmental trajectories of GM structure in individuals with PKU have not been examined, nor have trajectories of WM and GM been examined within a single study. To address this gap in the literature, we compared longitudinal brain development over a three-year period in individuals with PKU (n = 35; 18 male) and typically-developing controls (n = 71; 35 male) aged 7-21 years. Using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), we observed whole-brain and regional WM differences between individuals with PKU and controls, which were often exacerbated with increasing age. In marked contrast with trajectories of WM development, trajectories of GM development did not differ between individuals with PKU and controls, indicating that neuropathology in PKU is more prominent in WM than GM. Within individuals with PKU, mediation analyses revealed that whole-brain mean diffusivity (MD) and regional MD in the corpus callosum and centrum semiovale mediated the relationship between dietary treatment compliance (i.e., Phe control) and executive abilities, suggesting a plausible neurobiological mechanism by which Phe control may influence cognitive outcomes. Our findings clarify the specificity, timing, and cognitive consequences of whole-brain and regional WM pathology, with implications for treatment and research in PKU.
| S-EPMC6627563 | biostudies-literature
Project description:We previously identified visual tracking deficits and associated degradation of integrity in specific white matter tracts as characteristics of concussion. We re-explored these characteristics in adult patients with persistent post-concussive symptoms using independent new data acquired during 2009-2012. Thirty-two patients and 126 normal controls underwent cognitive assessments and MR-DTI. After data collection, a subset of control subjects was selected to be individually paired with patients based on gender and age. We identified patients' cognitive deficits through pairwise comparisons between patients and matched control subjects. Within the remaining 94 normal subjects, we identified white matter tracts whose integrity correlated with metrics that indicated performance degradation in patients. We then tested for reduced integrity in these white matter tracts in patients relative to matched controls. Most patients showed no abnormality in MR images unlike the previous study. Patients' visual tracking was generally normal. Patients' response times in an attention task were slowed, but could not be explained as reduced integrity of white matter tracts relating to normal response timing. In the present patient cohort, we did not observe behavioral or anatomical deficits that we previously identified as characteristic of concussion. The recent cohort likely represented those with milder injury compared to the earlier cohort. The discrepancy may be explained by a change in the patient recruitment pool circa 2007 associated with an increase in public awareness of concussion.
| S-EPMC4748060 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Experts of abacus, who have the skills of abacus-based mental calculation (AMC), are able to manipulate numbers via an imagined abacus in mind and demonstrate extraordinary ability in mental calculation. Behavioral studies indicated that abacus experts utilize visual strategy in solving numerical problems, and fMRI studies confirmed the enhanced involvement of visuospatial-related neural resources in AMC. This study aims to explore the possible changes in brain white matter induced by long-term training of AMC. Two matched groups participated: the abacus group consisting of 25 children with over 3-year training in abacus calculation and AMC, the controls including 25 children without any abacus experience. We found that the abacus group showed higher average fractional anisotropy (FA) in whole-brain fiber tracts, and the regions with increased FA were found in corpus callosum, left occipitotemporal junction and right premotor projection. No regions, however, showed decreased FA in the abacus group. Further analysis revealed that the differences in FA values were mainly driven by the alternation of radial rather than axial diffusivities. Furthermore, in forward digit and letter memory span tests, AMC group showed larger digit/letter memory spans. Interestingly, individual differences in white matter tracts were found positively correlated with the memory spans, indicating that the widespread increase of FA in the abacus group result possibly from the AMC training. In conclusion, our findings suggested that long-term AMC training from an early age may improve the memory capacity and enhance the integrity in white matter tracts related to motor and visuospatial processes.
| S-EPMC6870462 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Frontostriatal circuits have been implicated in reward learning, and emerging findings suggest that frontal white matter structural integrity and probabilistic reward learning are reduced in older age. This cross-sectional study examined whether age differences in frontostriatal white matter integrity could account for age differences in reward learning in a community life span sample of human adults. By combining diffusion tensor imaging with a probabilistic reward learning task, we found that older age was associated with decreased reward learning and decreased white matter integrity in specific pathways running from the thalamus to the medial prefrontal cortex and from the medial prefrontal cortex to the ventral striatum. Further, white matter integrity in these thalamocorticostriatal paths could statistically account for age differences in learning. These findings suggest that the integrity of frontostriatal white matter pathways critically supports reward learning. The findings also raise the possibility that interventions that bolster frontostriatal integrity might improve reward learning and decision making.
| S-EPMC3744863 | biostudies-literature
Project description:PurposeWe aimed to outline the latent variables approach for measuring nonverbal executive function (EF) skills in school-age children, and to examine the relationship between nonverbal EF skills and language performance in this age group.MethodSeventy-one typically developing children, ages 8 through 11, participated in the study. Three EF components, inhibition, updating, and task-shifting, were each indexed using 2 nonverbal tasks. A latent variables approach was used to extract latent scores that represented each EF construct. Children were also administered common standardized language measures. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between EF and language skills.ResultsNonverbal updating was associated with the Receptive Language Index on the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-Fourth Edition (CELF-4). When composites denoting lexical-semantic and syntactic abilities were derived, nonverbal inhibition (but not shifting or updating) was found to predict children's syntactic abilities. These relationships held when the effects of age, IQ, and socioeconomic status were controlled.ConclusionsThe study makes a methodological contribution by explicating a method by which researchers can use the latent variables approach when measuring EF performance in school-age children. The study makes a theoretical and a clinical contribution by suggesting that language performance may be related to domain-general EFs.
| S-EPMC5548084 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundAlcohol dependence (AD) remains one of the major public health concerns. Impulsivity plays a central role in the transfer from recreational alcohol use to dependence and relapse. White matter dysfunction has been implicated in alcohol addiction behaviors and impulsivity. However, little is known about the role of systematic striatal structural connections underlying the mechanism of impulsive traits in AD.MethodsIn our study, we used seed-based classification by probabilistic tractography with five target masks of striatal circuits to explore the differences in white matter integrity (fractional anisotropy, FA) in AD male patients (N = 51) and healthy controls (N = 27). We mainly explored the correlation between FA of the striatal circuits and impulsive traits (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, BIS-11), and the mediation role of impulsivity in white matter integrity and the severity of alcohol dependence.ResultsCompared with healthy controls, AD showed much lower FA in the left and right striatum-supplementary motor area (SMA) and left striatum-amygdala. We also found the decreased FA of right striatum-vlPFC was correlated with higher impulsivity. Besides, the relationship between reduced FA of right striatum-vlPFC and severity of dependence could be mediated by impulsivity.ConclusionIn our study, we found disrupted white matter integrity in systematic striatal circuits in AD and the decreased FA of right striatum-vlPFC was correlated with higher impulsivity in AD. Our main findings provide evidence for reduced white matter integrity of systematic striatal circuits and the underlying mechanisms of impulsivity in male AD individuals.
| S-EPMC9490322 | biostudies-literature