title: White matter microstructure of the cingulum and cerebellar peduncle is related to sustained attention and working memory: a diffusion tensor imaging study.
abstract: The non-invasive imaging technique of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has been used to investigate the microstructural properties of white matter (WM). The present study investigated whether individual differences in the WM structure of normal subjects as measured by fractional anisotropy (FA) values correlate with cognitive performance in terms of sustained attention and working memory. Subjects underwent DTI and performed the Continuous Performance Test (CPT) and N-back task. FA values throughout the brain were correlated with behavioral performance on a voxel-by-voxel basis to investigate relationships between WM microstructure and cognitive function. The discriminability index of CPT correlated positively with FA of the right cingulum. Accuracy of the 2-back task correlated positively with FA in bilateral cerebellar peduncles. WM microstructure of the right cingulum and bilateral cerebellar peduncles appears related to cognitive function such as sustained attention and working memory in the human brain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Nagoya University, Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai, Showa, Nagoya, Aichi 466-8550, Japan.
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Kunihiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Iwamoto
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fukatsu
authors.forename: Shinji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Naganawa
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Iidaka
authors.forename: Norio
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ozaki
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016880:Anisotropy; D001288:Attention; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging; D005260:Female; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term