White matter maturation profiles through early childhood predict general cognitive ability.
White matter maturation profiles through early childhood predict general cognitive ability.
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DOI：
10.1007/s00429-014-0947-x
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发表时间：
2016-03
影响因子：
3.1
通讯作者：
Jumbe NL
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Deoni SC;O'Muircheartaigh J;Elison JT;Walker L;Doernberg E;Waskiewicz N;Dirks H;Piryatinsky I;Dean DC 3rd;Jumbe NL
婴儿期和幼儿期是大脑快速发展的时期，在此期间，大脑结构和功能随着认知能力的发展而成熟。有髓白质的成熟是出生后一个重要的神经发育过程，它促进了神经系统和网络之间的快速交流。尽管先前对儿童(4岁及以上)、青少年和成年人的脑成像研究一直将白质发育与认知成熟和智力联系起来，但很少有研究研究这些过程在整个早期发育过程中(出生到4岁)是如何相关的。在这里，我们表明，在生命的头5年，白质髓鞘形成的概况与认知能力密切相关。使用纵向设计，结合先进的磁共振成像，我们证明了能力高于平均水平的儿童与能力中等和低于平均能力的儿童相比，表现出不同的髓鞘发育轨迹，即使在控制社会经济地位、妊娠和出生体重的情况下也是如此。具体地说，能力较高的儿童表现出较慢的早期发育，但较长的时间，导致髓鞘测量总体上增加了约3岁。这些结果为认知能力的早期神经解剖学相关性提供了新的见解，并表明早期的长期成熟和相关的长期白质可塑性可能会导致神经网络得到加强，从而更好地支持以后的发育。此外，这些结果进一步证实了在研究典型或疑似非典型认知成熟时采用纵向视角的必要性。
Infancy and early childhood are periods of rapid brain development, during which brain structure and function mature alongside evolving cognitive ability. An important neurodevelopmental process during this postnatal period is the maturation of the myelinated white matter, which facilitates rapid communication across neural systems and networks. Though prior brain imaging studies in children (4 years of age and above), adolescents, and adults have consistently linked white matter development with cognitive maturation and intelligence, few studies have examined how these processes are related throughout early development (birth to 4 years of age). Here, we show that the profile of white matter myelination across the first 5 years of life is strongly and specifically related to cognitive ability. Using a longitudinal design, coupled with advanced magnetic resonance imaging, we demonstrate that children with above-average ability show differential trajectories of myelin development compared to average and below average ability children, even when controlling for socioeconomic status, gestation, and birth weight. Specifically, higher ability children exhibit slower but more prolonged early development, resulting in overall increased myelin measures by ~3 years of age. These results provide new insight into the early neuroanatomical correlates of cognitive ability, and suggest an early period of prolonged maturation with associated protracted white matter plasticity may result in strengthened neural networks that can better support later development. Further, these results reinforce the necessity of a longitudinal perspective in investigating typical or suspected atypical cognitive maturation.