Shape of the basal ganglia in preadolescent children is associated with cognitive performance. Neuroimage 2014 Oct 01;99:93-102
Date
05/23/2014Pubmed ID
24844741Pubmed Central ID
PMC4112008DOI
10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.05.020Scopus ID
2-s2.0-84903522380 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 37 CitationsAbstract
Current studies support the belief that high levels of performance and intellectual abilities are associated with increased brain size or volume. With few exceptions, this conclusion is restricted to studies of post-adolescent subjects and to cerebral cortex. There is evidence that "bigger is better" may not pertain to children and further, that there are areas of the brain in which larger structures are associated with cognitive deficits. In 50 preadolescent children (21 girls) a structural survey of the brain (VBM) was conducted to determine and locate areas in which gray matter volume was associated with poor cognitive performance. Only increased gray matter volume in particular areas of the basal ganglia and specifically the putamen was significantly associated with poor performance on tests of memory, response speed and a general marker and subtests of intelligence. Based on the VBM findings, volumetric analysis of basal ganglia structures was performed using FSL/FIRST. However, no significant changes in total volume of putamen or other basal ganglia structures were detected with this analysis. The disagreement between measures of localized gray matter differences and volumetric analysis suggested that there might be local regional deformity rather than widespread volumetric changes of the putamen. Surface analysis with FSL/FIRST demonstrated that bilateral outward deformation of the putamen, but especially the left, was associated with poor performance on several cognitive tests. Expansion of the globus pallidus and caudate nucleus also was associated with poor performance. Moreover a significant association was detected between a reliable test of language-free intelligence and topographically distinct outward and inward deformation of the putamen. Expansion and contraction of the putamen as a predictor of intelligence may explain why this association was not observed with measures of total volume. These results suggest that deformity is a sensitive measure of function, and that distortion of the basal ganglia may be a neurophenotype for risk of developmental impairment.
Author List
Sandman CA, Head K, Muftuler LT, Su L, Buss C, Davis EPAuthor
Lutfi Tugan Muftuler PhD Professor in the Neurosurgery department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
Basal GangliaChild
Cognition
Executive Function
Female
Humans
Intelligence Tests
Male
Memory
Neuropsychological Tests
Photic Stimulation
Psychomotor Performance