Title: Early Microstructure of White Matter Associated with Infant Attention
Legend: Infants’ ability to orient and sustain attention to stimuli develops in concert with refinement of the orienting network in frontoparietal regions of the brain. Infants (n=97) underwent magnetic resonance imaging at one month of age and data were fit to a diffusion tensor imaging model to calculate fractional anisotropy (FA). Infant attention was assessed at six months of age using a dynamic puppet task (Cuevas & Bell, 2014). Infants with higher FA in the corpus callosum, anterior cingulum, and superior longitudinal fasciculus showed increased orienting behaviors. Our findings indicate that increased structural integrity of the white matter tracts in the orienting network may play a role in the early neurodevelopment of attentional orienting behaviors.
Citation: (2020). Early microstructure of white matter associated with infant attention. Dev Cogn Neurosci. 45:100815. doi: 10.1016/j.dcn.2020.100815.
Abstract: Early infancy is characterized by rapid brain development that occurs alongside, and in response to, the development of cognitive and behavioral functions, including attention. Infants’ ability to orient and sustain attention to stimuli develops in concert with refinement of the orienting network in frontoparietal regions of the brain. Infants (n = 97) underwent magnetic resonance imaging at one-month of age and data were fit to a diffusion tensor imaging model to calculate fractional anisotropy (FA) and radial diffusivity (RD), as well as to a neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging model to calculate intracellular volume fraction (νic). Infant attention was assessed at six months of age using a dynamic puppet task (Cuevas and Bell, 2014). Infants with higher FA in the corpus callosum and anterior cingulum showed increased orienting behaviors. Our findings indicate that increased microstructure of the white matter tracts in the orienting network may play a role in the early neurodevelopment of attentional orienting behaviors.
About the Lab: Goldsmith’s research concerns children’s emotional development, behavioral challenges, and the autism spectrum. The research incorporates perspectives of psychology, genetics, neuroscience, and developmental epidemiology. He is recognized as a leading theorist of human temperament and a key empirical contributor to the fields of developmental behavioral genetics and childhood psychopathology. Goldsmith is principal investigator on six external grants, an investigator in three centers, and a faculty member on three training grants. His highly collaborative research involves many UW faculty and colleagues at other institutions. Visit the Wisconsin Twin Research lab for more information.