Aberrant Structural and Functional Developmental Trajectories in Children With Intellectual Disability.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Neuroscience
• Neuroimaging

Background:

• Intellectual disability (ID) involves aberrant brain development, but its dynamic changes from childhood to puberty are poorly understood.
• Investigating developmental trajectories is crucial for understanding the neuropathological basis of ID.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the abnormal developmental trajectories of brain structure and function in children with ID.
• To identify structural and functional differences and their correlation with intelligence.

Main Methods:

• Recruited 40 children with ID (6-13 years) and 30 healthy controls (HC).
• Utilized voxel-based morphometry (VBM) for structural analysis and resting-state functional connectivity (FC) for functional analysis.
• Performed seed-based whole-brain FC analyses on regions with altered gray matter volume (GMV).

Main Results:

• Children with ID exhibited significantly decreased total gray matter volume (GMV) and white matter volume (WMV) compared to HC.
• Developmental trajectories of GMV and WMV were reversed in ID compared to HC.
• Increased GMV was observed in specific regions (dmPFC, orb_IFG, cuneus.R, MFG) in ID, with decreased FCs between cuneus.R-IPS.L and MFG.R-ACC.
• Negative correlations between GMV and IQ, and positive correlations between specific FCs and IQ were found in ID and HC groups.

Conclusions:

• Findings demonstrate abnormal structural and functional brain development in children with ID.
• The frontoparietal network plays a critical role in typical neurodevelopment.
• Abnormal GMV and functional connectivity patterns may represent the neuropathological basis of ID.