title: White matter development and early cognition in babies and toddlers.
abstract: The normal myelination of neuronal axons is essential to neurodevelopment, allowing fast inter-neuronal communication. The most dynamic period of myelination occurs in the first few years of life, in concert with a dramatic increase in cognitive abilities. How these processes relate, however, is still unclear. Here we aimed to use a data-driven technique to parcellate developing white matter into regions with consistent white matter growth trajectories and investigate how these regions related to cognitive development. In a large sample of 183 children aged 3 months to 4 years, we calculated whole brain myelin volume fraction (VFM ) maps using quantitative multicomponent relaxometry. We used spatial independent component analysis (ICA) to blindly segment these quantitative VFM images into anatomically meaningful parcels with distinct developmental trajectories. We further investigated the relationship of these trajectories with standardized cognitive scores in the same children. The resulting components represented a mix of unilateral and bilateral white matter regions (e.g., cortico-spinal tract, genu and splenium of the corpus callosum, white matter underlying the inferior frontal gyrus) as well as structured noise (misregistration, image artifact). The trajectories of these regions were associated with individual differences in cognitive abilities. Specifically, components in white matter underlying frontal and temporal cortices showed significant relationships to expressive and receptive language abilities. Many of these relationships had a significant interaction with age, with VFM becoming more strongly associated with language skills with age. These data provide evidence for a changing coupling between developing myelin and cognitive development.
authors.affiliation: Advanced Baby Imaging Lab, School of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island; Department of Neuroimaging, King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: O'Muircheartaigh
authors.forename: Douglas C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Dean
authors.forename: Cedric E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Ginestet
authors.forename: Lindsay
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Waskiewicz
authors.forename: Katie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lehman
authors.forename: Holly
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dirks
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Piryatinsky
authors.forename: Sean C L
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Deoni
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000254:growth & development*; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D007223:Infant; D007802:Language; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills; D009413:Nerve Fibers, Myelinated; D017711:Nonlinear Dynamics; D011581:Psychological Tests; D066127:White Matter / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000254:growth & development*
keywords: cognitive development; language; multicomponent relaxometry; myelin volume fraction; neurodevelopment; white matter