Age-related, multivariate associations between white matter microstructure and behavioral performance in three...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Science
• Developmental Psychology

Background:

• Executive functions (EF) like working memory (WM), response inhibition (RI), and set shifting (SS) mature throughout adolescence and young adulthood.
• These cognitive changes are associated with alterations in brain structure, particularly white matter.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between maturation-linked differences in EF abilities and white matter microstructural differences.
• To explore how these associations change from adolescence into young adulthood.

Main Methods:

• Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was used to assess white matter microstructure (fractional anisotropy - FA).
• Nine neurocognitive tests measured EF domains (WM, RI, SS) in 120 healthy participants aged 12-24.
• A multivariate technique (CCA+jICA) fused DTI and neurocognitive data to identify covariation patterns.

Main Results:

• Three distinct EF-DTI profiles demonstrating developmental changes were identified.
• One profile showed age-related shifts in reliance on ventral versus dorsal white matter tracts for set shifting.
• Another profile revealed an age-exacerbated pattern of strong WM and weak SS linked to white matter microstructure.
• A third profile indicated that younger individuals with low RI and high WM/SS skills showed maturation-related cognitive and white matter changes.

Conclusions:

• Novel multivariate analyses reveal complex brain structure-cognition relationships during adolescent and young adult development.
• Specific white matter microstructural differences are systematically associated with distinct executive function profiles across this age range.
• These findings contribute to understanding the neurodevelopmental trajectories of executive functions.