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Relations between White Matter Maturation and Reaction Time in Childhood

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 October 2013

Nadia Scantlebury ,
Todd Cunningham ,
Colleen Dockstader ,
Suzanne Laughlin ,
William Gaetz ,
Conrad Rockel ,
Jolynn Dickson  and
Donald Mabbott
Nadia Scantlebury
Affiliation:
Brain and Behavior Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario
Todd Cunningham
Affiliation:
Brain and Behavior Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario
Colleen Dockstader
Affiliation:
Brain and Behavior Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario
Suzanne Laughlin
Affiliation:
Department of Diagnostic Imaging, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario Department of Medical Imaging, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario
William Gaetz
Affiliation:
Department of Radiology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Conrad Rockel
Affiliation:
Department of Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario
Jolynn Dickson
Affiliation:
Brain and Behavior Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario
Donald Mabbott*
Affiliation:
Brain and Behavior Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to: Donald J. Mabbott, Program in Neurosciences and Mental Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 1X8. E-mail: donald.mabbott@sickkids.ca
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Abstract

White matter matures with age and is important for the efficient transmission of neuronal signals. Consequently, white matter growth may underlie the development of cognitive processes important for learning, including the speed of information processing. To dissect the relationship between white matter structure and information processing speed, we administered a reaction time task (finger abduction in response to visual cue) to 27 typically developing, right-handed children aged 4 to 13. Magnetoencephalography and Diffusion Tensor Imaging were used to delineate white matter connections implicated in visual-motor information processing. Fractional anisotropy (FA) and radial diffusivity (RD) of the optic radiation in the left hemisphere, and FA and mean diffusivity (MD) of the optic radiation in the right hemisphere changed significantly with age. MD and RD decreased with age in the right inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, and bilaterally in the cortico-spinal tracts. No age-related changes were evident in the inferior longitudinal fasciculus. FA of the cortico-spinal tract in the left hemisphere and MD of the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus of the right hemisphere contributed uniquely beyond the effect of age in accounting for reaction time performance of the right hand. Our findings support the role of white matter maturation in the development of information processing speed. (JINS, 2013, 19, 1–14)

Keywords

White matterProcessing speedReaction timeDiffusion tensor imaging tractographyMagnetoencephalographyPediatric
Type
Research Articles
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 20 , Issue 1 , January 2014 , pp. 99 - 112
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2013 

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