Structural and Functional Asymmetry of the Language Network Emerge in Early Childhood

Overview

Journal Dev Cogn Neurosci

Publisher Elsevier

Specialties Neurology
Psychiatry

Date 2019 Aug 4

PMID 31376589

Citations 16

Authors

Jess E Reynolds

Xiangyu Long

Melody N Grohs

Deborah Dewey

Catherine Lebel

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Structural and functional neuroimaging studies show language and reading processes are left-lateralized, and associated with a dispersed group of left brain regions. However, it is unclear when and how asymmetry of these regions emerges. We characterized the development of structural and functional asymmetry of the language network in 386 datasets from 117 healthy children (58 male) across early childhood (2-7.5 years). Structural asymmetry was investigated using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and manual delineation of the arcuate fasciculus. Functional connectivity asymmetry was calculated from seed regions in the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and middle temporal gyrus (MTG). We show that macrostructural asymmetry of the arcuate fasciculus is present by age 2 years, while leftward asymmetry of microstructure and functional connectivity with the IFG increases across the age range. This emerging microstructural and functional asymmetry likely underlie the development of language and reading skills during this time.

Citing Articles

Musical Sophistication and Multilingualism: Effects on Arcuate Fasciculus Characteristics.

Cui A, Kraeutner S, Kepinska O, Motamed Yeganeh N, Hermiston N, Werker J Hum Brain Mapp. 2024; 45(14):e70035.

PMID: 39360580 PMC: 11447524. DOI: 10.1002/hbm.70035.

Musicianship and Prominence of Interhemispheric Connectivity Determine Two Different Pathways to Atypical Language Dominance.

Villar-Rodriguez E, Marin-Marin L, Baena-Perez M, Cano-Melle C, Parcet M, Avila C J Neurosci. 2024; 44(37).

PMID: 39160067 PMC: 11391498. DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2430-23.2024.

Longitudinal trajectories of brain development from infancy to school age and their relationship to literacy development.

Turesky T, Escalante E, Loh M, Gaab N bioRxiv. 2024; .

PMID: 39005343 PMC: 11244924. DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.29.601366.

Evidence for a Compensatory Relationship between Left- and Right-Lateralized Brain Networks.

Peterson M, Braga R, Floris D, Nielsen J bioRxiv. 2023; .

PMID: 38106130 PMC: 10723397. DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.08.570817.

The use of functional near-infrared spectroscopy in tracking neurodevelopmental trajectories in infants and children with or without developmental disorders: a systematic review.

Su W, Colacot R, Ahmed N, Nguyen T, George T, Gandjbakhche A Front Psychiatry. 2023; 14:1210000.

PMID: 37779610 PMC: 10536152. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1210000.

References

Vigneau M, Beaucousin V, Herve P, Duffau H, Crivello F, Houde O . Meta-analyzing left hemisphere language areas: phonology, semantics, and sentence processing. Neuroimage. 2006; 30(4):1414-32. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2005.11.002. View

Vandermosten M, Vanderauwera J, Theys C, de Vos A, Vanvooren S, Sunaert S . A DTI tractography study in pre-readers at risk for dyslexia. Dev Cogn Neurosci. 2015; 14:8-15. PMC: 6989819. DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2015.05.006. View

Reynolds J, Grohs M, Dewey D, Lebel C . Global and regional white matter development in early childhood. Neuroimage. 2019; 196:49-58. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.04.004. View

Xia M, Wang J, He Y . BrainNet Viewer: a network visualization tool for human brain connectomics. PLoS One. 2013; 8(7):e68910. PMC: 3701683. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0068910. View

Xiao Y, Brauer J, Lauckner M, Zhai H, Jia F, Margulies D . Development of the Intrinsic Language Network in Preschool Children from Ages 3 to 5 Years. PLoS One. 2016; 11(11):e0165802. PMC: 5094780. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0165802. View

Tak H, Kim J, Son S . Developmental process of the arcuate fasciculus from infancy to adolescence: a diffusion tensor imaging study. Neural Regen Res. 2016; 11(6):937-43. PMC: 4962591. DOI: 10.4103/1673-5374.184492. View

Dehaene-Lambertz G, Dehaene S, Hertz-Pannier L . Functional neuroimaging of speech perception in infants. Science. 2002; 298(5600):2013-5. DOI: 10.1126/science.1077066. View

Sakai K . Language acquisition and brain development. Science. 2005; 310(5749):815-9. DOI: 10.1126/science.1113530. View

Smits M, Jiskoot L, Papma J . White matter tracts of speech and language. Semin Ultrasound CT MR. 2014; 35(5):504-16. DOI: 10.1053/j.sult.2014.06.008. View

10.

Saygin Z, Norton E, Osher D, Beach S, Cyr A, Ozernov-Palchik O . Tracking the roots of reading ability: white matter volume and integrity correlate with phonological awareness in prereading and early-reading kindergarten children. J Neurosci. 2013; 33(33):13251-8. PMC: 3742917. DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4383-12.2013. View

11.

Raschle N, Chang M, Gaab N . Structural brain alterations associated with dyslexia predate reading onset. Neuroimage. 2010; 57(3):742-9. PMC: 3499031. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.09.055. View

12.

Salvan P, Tournier J, Batalle D, Falconer S, Chew A, Kennea N . Language ability in preterm children is associated with arcuate fasciculi microstructure at term. Hum Brain Mapp. 2017; 38(8):3836-3847. PMC: 5518442. DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23632. View

13.

Yeatman J, Dougherty R, Rykhlevskaia E, Sherbondy A, Deutsch G, Wandell B . Anatomical properties of the arcuate fasciculus predict phonological and reading skills in children. J Cogn Neurosci. 2011; 23(11):3304-17. PMC: 3214008. DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_00061. View

14.

Dehaene-Lambertz G, Hertz-Pannier L, Dubois J, Meriaux S, Roche A, Sigman M . Functional organization of perisylvian activation during presentation of sentences in preverbal infants. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006; 103(38):14240-5. PMC: 1599941. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0606302103. View

15.

Walton M, Dewey D, Lebel C . Brain white matter structure and language ability in preschool-aged children. Brain Lang. 2017; 176:19-25. DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2017.10.008. View

16.

Fonov V, Evans A, Botteron K, Almli C, McKinstry R, Collins D . Unbiased average age-appropriate atlases for pediatric studies. Neuroimage. 2010; 54(1):313-27. PMC: 2962759. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.07.033. View

17.

Dubois J, Hertz-Pannier L, Cachia A, Mangin J, Le Bihan D, Dehaene-Lambertz G . Structural asymmetries in the infant language and sensori-motor networks. Cereb Cortex. 2008; 19(2):414-23. DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhn097. View

18.

Dehaene-Lambertz G, Hertz-Pannier L, Dubois J . Nature and nurture in language acquisition: anatomical and functional brain-imaging studies in infants. Trends Neurosci. 2006; 29(7):367-373. DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2006.05.011. View

19.

Lebel C, Walker L, Leemans A, Phillips L, Beaulieu C . Microstructural maturation of the human brain from childhood to adulthood. Neuroimage. 2008; 40(3):1044-55. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2007.12.053. View

20.

OMuircheartaigh J, Dean 3rd D, Dirks H, Waskiewicz N, Lehman K, Jerskey B . Interactions between white matter asymmetry and language during neurodevelopment. J Neurosci. 2013; 33(41):16170-7. PMC: 3792458. DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1463-13.2013. View