Connectivity of the Superior Longitudinal Fasciculus II and Executive Function in Children with ADHD

Authors

  • Larissa Ma American Heritage School
  • Leya Joykutty Mentor, American Heritage School
  • Anthony Dick Mentor, Florida International University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47611/jsrhs.v10i3.1792

Keywords:

white matter, ADHD, executive function, behavior

Abstract

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common childhood neurodevelopmental disorder marked by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness. The importance of the Superior Longitudinal Fasciculus II (SLFII), a white matter tract connecting the frontal and parietal regions, to developing executive function has not been established in children who typically have executive function deficits. The present study explored the association between diffusion properties of the SLFII and developing executive function in young children diagnosed with ADHD. A dataset with the performance on the NIH Toolbox Card Sort and the NIH Toolbox Flanker, two executive function tasks, in 59 4-7-year-old children was used, and diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging scans were used to quantify the white matter properties of the bilateral SLFII. The results showed that there was an association between age and performance on the Flanker and Card Sort tasks. As age increased, performance also improved. There was no significant association between white matter properties of the SLFII, birth sex, and the Card Sort and Flanker tasks. As the first study to explore this association in children of this age with ADHD, this result was unexpected suggesting that it may be the case that it is too early in development to detect a strong association. The findings inform contemporary and future investigations into the brain-behavior relations between SLFII and executive function in children with ADHD. With further research, neuroimaging could become a potential diagnostic biomarker for predicting executive function impairments and ADHD symptoms in young children, potentially altering treatment outcomes.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References or Bibliography

Alvarez, J. A., & Emory, E. (2006). Executive function and the frontal lobes: a meta-analytic review. Neuropsychology review, 16(1), 17–42. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-006-9002-x

Berman, K. (1995). Physiological activation of a cortical network during performance of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test: A positron emission tomography study. Neuropsychologia, 33(8). https://doi.org/10.1016/0028-3932(95)00035-2

Catani, M., & Thiebaut de Schotten, M. (2008). A diffusion tensor imaging tractography atlas for virtual in vivo dissections. Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior, 44(8), 1105–1132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2008.05.004

Eriksen, B.A., & Eriksen, C.W. (1974). Effects of noise letters upon the identification of a target letter in a nonsearch task. Perception & Psychophysics, 16, 143-149.

Fabiano, G. A., Pelham, W. E., Jr., Waschbusch, D. A., Gnagy, E. M., Lahey, B. B., Chronis, A. M., . . . Burrows-Maclean, L. (2006). A practical measure of impairment: psychometric properties of the impairment rating scale in samples of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and two school-based samples. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol, 35(3), 369-385. https://doi:10.1207/s15374424jccp3503_3

Fischer, M., Moscovitch, M., & Alain, C. (2020). A systematic review and meta‐analysis of memory‐guided attention: Frontal and parietal activation suggests involvement of fronto‐parietal networks. WIREs Cognitive Science, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.1002/wcs.1546

Graziano, P. A., Slavec, J., Hart, K., Garcia, A., & Pelham, W. E. (2014). Improving school readiness in preschoolers with behavior problems: Results from a summer treatment program. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 36, 555-569.

Kinoshita, M., Nakajima, R., Shinohara, H., Miyashita, K., Tanaka, S., Okita, H., Nakada, M., & Hayashi, Y. (2016). Chronic spatial working memory deficit associated with the superior longitudinal fasciculus: a study using voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping and intraoperative direct stimulation in right prefrontal glioma surgery. Journal of Neurosurgery, 125(4), 1024–1032. https://doi.org/10.3171/2015.10.jns1591

Mullane, J. C., Corkum, P. V., Klein, R. M., & McLaughlin, E. (2008). Interference Control in Children with and without ADHD: A Systematic Review of Flanker and Simon Task Performance. Child Neuropsychology, 15(4), 321–342. https://doi.org/10.1080/09297040802348028

Oeri, N., Voelke, A. E., & Roebers, C. M. (2018). Inhibition and behavioral self-regulation: An inextricably linked couple in preschool years. Cognitive Development, 47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2018.01.004

Parlatini, V., Radua, J., Dell’Acqua, F., Leslie, A., Simmons, A., Murphy, D. G., Catani, M., &

Thiebaut de Schotten, M. (2017). Functional segregation and integration within fronto-parietal networks. NeuroImage, 146, 367–375. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.08.031

Pelham, W. E., Gnagy, E. M., Greenslade, K. E., & Milich, R. (1992). Teacher ratings of DSM-III-R symptoms for the disruptive behavior disorders. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 31(2), 210-218.

Roberts, R. E., Anderson, E. J., & Husain, M. (2010). Expert Cognitive Control and Individual Differences Associated with Frontal and Parietal White Matter Microstructure. Journal of Neuroscience, 30(50), 17063–17067. https://doi.org/10.1523/jneurosci.4879-10.2010

Schmahmann, J. D., & Pandya, D. N. (2006). Fiber Pathways of the Brain. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Smolker, H. R., Friedman, N. P., Hewitt, J. K., & Banich, M. T. (2018). Neuroanatomical Correlates of the Unity and Diversity Model of Executive Function in Young Adults. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 12, 283–283. PubMed. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2018.00283

Wechsler, D. (2012). Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence—Fourth edition technical and interpretive manual. In: San Antonio, TX: Pearson.

Zelazo, P. D., Muller, U., Frye, D., & Marcovitch, S. (2003). I. The Development of Executive Function. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 68(3), 1–27.https://doi:10.1111/j.0037-976x.2003.00261.x

Zelazo, P. D., Anderson, J. E., Richler, J., Wallner-Allen, K., Beaumont, J. L., & Weintraub, S. (2013). Ii. Nih Toolbox Cognition Battery (Cb): Measuring Executive Function and Attention. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development,78(4), 16-33.https://doi:10.1111/mono.12032

Published

11-02-2021

How to Cite

Ma, L., Joykutty, L., & Dick, A. (2021). Connectivity of the Superior Longitudinal Fasciculus II and Executive Function in Children with ADHD . Journal of Student Research, 10(3). https://doi.org/10.47611/jsrhs.v10i3.1792

Issue

Section

HS Research Projects