Associations between Brain Microstructure and Phonological Processing Ability in Preschool Children

Children

Huishi Huang¹  Guangfei Li²  Zhao Zhang²  Zeyu Song²  Xiaoying Tang²  Hanjun Li²  Ying Zhou² 

[1] Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK;School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, 5 South Zhongguancun Street, Beijing 100081, China;

关键词: DTI;    white matter;    language;    development;   

DOI  :  10.3390/children9060782

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Neuroimaging studies have associated brain changes in children with future reading and language skills, but few studies have investigated the association between language skills and white matter structure in preschool-aged children. Using 208 data sets acquired in 73 healthy children aged 2–7 years, we investigated the relationship between developmental brain microstructure and phonological processing ability as measured using their phonological processing raw score (PPRS). The correlation analysis showed that across the whole age group, with increasing age, PPRS increased, fractional anisotropy (FA) of the internal capsule and inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus and some other regions increased, and mean diffusivity (MD) of the corpus callosum and internal capsule and some other regions decreased. The results of the mediation analysis suggest that increased FA may be the basis of phonological processing ability development during this period, and the increased number of fiber connections between the right inferior parietal lobule and right supramarginal gyrus may be a key imaging feature of phonological processing ability development. Our study reflects the changes in brain microstructure and contributes to understanding the underlying neural mechanisms of language development in preschool children.

【 授权许可】

Unknown