Multimodal imaging of the self-regulating developing brain

A. M. Fjell, K. B. Walhovd, T. T. Brown, J. M. Kuperman, Y. Chung, D. J. Hagler, V. Venkatraman, J. C. Roddey, M. Erhart, C. McCabe, N. Akshoomoff, D. G. Amaral (+53 others)
2012 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America  
Self-regulation refers to the ability to control behavior, cognition, and emotions, and self-regulation failure is related to a range of neuropsychiatric problems. It is poorly understood how structural maturation of the brain brings about the gradual improvement in self-regulation during childhood. In a large-scale multicenter effort, 735 children (4-21 y) underwent structural MRI for quantification of cortical thickness and surface area and diffusion tensor imaging for quantification of the
more » ... ality of major fiber connections. Brain development was related to a standardized measure of cognitive control (the flanker task from the National Institutes of Health Toolbox), a critical component of self-regulation. Ability to inhibit responses and impose cognitive control increased rapidly during preteen years. Surface area of the anterior cingulate cortex accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in cognitive performance. This finding is intriguing, because characteristics of the anterior cingulum are shown to be related to impulse, attention, and executive problems in neurodevelopmental disorders, indicating a neural foundation for self-regulation abilities along a continuum from normality to pathology. The relationship was strongest in the younger children. Properties of large-fiber connections added to the picture by explaining additional variance in cognitive control. Although cognitive control was related to surface area of the anterior cingulate independently of basic processes of mental speed, the relationship between white matter quality and cognitive control could be fully accounted for by speed. The results underscore the need for integration of different aspects of brain maturation to understand the foundations of cognitive development. executive function | cognitive conflict | inhibition | morphometry S elf-regulation enables people to make plans, choose from alternatives, control impulses, inhibit thoughts, and regulate social behavior (updated reviews in refs. 1 and 2). Several neuropsychiatric conditions and problems have been related to deficiencies in self-regulation [e.g., Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (3), addiction (4), risk behavior (5), conduct problems (6), and poor school and academic performance (7, 8)]. Although development of self-regulation in children is the result of a dynamic interaction between maturation and learning, we have scarce knowledge about the role played by structural brain characteristics in this process. Recent reports indicate that adjustment problems in childhood psychopathology are related to structural brain characteristics (9-13), but the brain basis for development of self-regulation in normal children is less well-understood. Thus, the purpose of the present paper was to use multimodal neuroimaging to map the structural brain characteristics related to self-regulation and cognitive control in a large sample of 735 children between 4 and 21 y of age. Self-regulation is closely tied to the concepts of cognitive control, attention, and executive functions (14) . The ability to handle response conflict in pure cognitive tasks has been shown to correlate with parents' reports of their children's behavioral control (e.g., to delay actions and avoid lying, cheating, or other antisocial behavior) (6, 15). Executive attention and effortful control have been related to academic outcome, aspects of social adjustment (16), and inhibitory control to early arithmetic competency (17). More specifically, lower performance on the flanker task (see below) has been related to poorer social behavior, increased rates of peer rejection and more disturbing behavior in the classroom (18), dimensions of school competence (19), and parent-reported temperamental effortful control (20). This finding makes it possible to study the neural foundation of self-regulation by using validated cognitive tasks with a high degree of experimental control. Evidence has converged on an executive attention network, with the anterior cingulate being the central structure, as the major network responsible for resolving cognitive conflicts (21, 22) . Of special interest for the current investigation is that this network seems less differentiated from other attention networks in infancy and young childhood. The work by Posner (22) suggests that the Data used in preparation of this study were obtained from the Pediatric Imaging, Neurocognition, and Genetics Study (PING) database. As such, the investigators within PING contributed to the design and implementation of PING and/or provided data but did not participate in the analysis or writing of this report. A complete listing of PING investigators can be found in the Supporting Information. This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/
doi:10.1073/pnas.1208243109 pmid:23150548 pmcid:PMC3511748 fatcat:ynxsvhoavncdtkbo3pavuyucei