title: Verbal-spatial IQ discrepancies impact brain activation associated with the resolution of cognitive conflict in children and adolescents.
abstract: Verbal-spatial discrepancies are common in healthy individuals and in those with neurodevelopmental disorders associated with cognitive control deficits including: Autism Spectrum Disorder, Non-Verbal Learning Disability, Fragile X, 22q11 deletion, and Turner Syndrome. Previous data from healthy individuals suggest that the magnitude of the difference between verbal IQ (VIQ) and performance IQ (PIQ) scores (the VIQ>PIQ discrepancy) is associated with reduced thickness in frontal and parietal cortices (inferior frontal, anterior cingulate, inferior parietal lobule, and supramarginal gyrus) that support cognitive control. Unknown is whether the VIQ>PIQ discrepancy is associated with functional deficits in these areas in healthy or ill children and adolescents. We assessed the effects of the VIQ>PIQ discrepancy on fMRI BOLD response during the resolution of cognitive conflict in 55 healthy children and adolescents during performance of a Simon Spatial Incompatibility task. As the magnitude of the VIQ>PIQ discrepancy increased, activation of fronto-striatal, limbic, and temporal regions decreased during conflict resolution (p < .05, corrected). In exploratory analyses, the VIQ>PIQ discrepancy was associated with reduced functional connectivity from right inferior frontal gyrus to right thalamus and increased functional connectivity to right supramarginal gyrus (ps < .03, uncorrected). The VIQ>PIQ discrepancy may be an important aspect of an individual's cognitive profile and likely contributes to, or is associated with, deficient cognitive control processes characteristic of many childhood disorders.
authors.affiliation: The Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry, the New York State Psychiatric Institute and the College of Physicians & Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Amy E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Margolis
authors.affiliation: The Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry, the New York State Psychiatric Institute and the College of Physicians & Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Katie S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.affiliation: The Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry, the New York State Psychiatric Institute and the College of Physicians & Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Lisa S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Pao
authors.affiliation: The Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry, the New York State Psychiatric Institute and the College of Physicians & Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.affiliation: The Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry, the New York State Psychiatric Institute and the College of Physicians & Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: The Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry, the New York State Psychiatric Institute and the College of Physicians & Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Gregory
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tau
authors.affiliation: The Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry, the New York State Psychiatric Institute and the College of Physicians & Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Guihu
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: The Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry, the New York State Psychiatric Institute and the College of Physicians & Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Zhishun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: The Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry, the New York State Psychiatric Institute and the College of Physicians & Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Marsh
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D007859:Learning Disabilities; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D000076604:Physical Functional Performance; D014706:Verbal Learning; D055815:Young Adult