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Manual dexterity in late childhood is associated with maturation of the corticospinal tract

Authors :
Ian Fuelscher
Christian Hyde
Daryl Efron
Timothy J. Silk
Source :
NeuroImage, Vol 226, Iss , Pp 117583- (2021)
Publication Year :
2021
Publisher :
Elsevier, 2021.

Abstract

Purpose: Despite the important role of manual dexterity in child development, the neurobiological mechanisms associated with manual dexterity in childhood remain unclear. We leveraged fixel-based analysis (FBA) to examine the longitudinal association between manual dexterity and the development of white matter structural properties in the corticospinal tract (CST). Methods: High angular diffusion weighted imaging (HARDI) data were acquired for 44 right-handed typically developing children (22 female) aged 9-13 across two timepoints (timepoint 1: mean age 10.5 years ± 0.5 years, timepoint 2: 11.8 ± 0.5 years). Manual dexterity was assessed using the Grooved Pegboard Test, a widely used measure of manual dexterity. FBA-derived measures of fiber density and morphology were generated for the CST at each timepoint. Connectivity-based fixel enhancement and mixed linear modelling were used to examine the longitudinal association between manual dexterity and white matter structural properties of the CST. Results: Longitudinal mixed effects models showed that greater manual dexterity of the dominant hand was associated with increased fiber cross-section in the contralateral CST. Analyses further demonstrated that the rate of improvement in manual dexterity was associated with the rate of increase in fiber cross-section in the contralateral CST between the two timepoints. Conclusion: Our longitudinal data suggest that the development of manual dexterity in late childhood is associated with maturation of the CST. These findings significantly enhance our understanding of the neurobiological systems that subserve fine motor development and provide an important step toward mapping normative trajectories of fine motor function against microstructural and morphological development in childhood.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
10959572
Volume :
226
Issue :
117583-
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
NeuroImage
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.061b2e91040644c899d1229e64ae518f
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117583