Connectivity-based neuromarker for children's inhibitory control ability and its relevance to body mass index
Jinfeng Han1, Kaixiang Zhuang2, Ximei Chen1
1Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
Insights
Inhibitory control, crucial for healthy growth, impacts children's BMI by influencing brain connectivity. A brain neuromarker for this control predicts future BMI, aiding childhood obesity prevention.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Public Health
Background:
- Maintaining a normal Body Mass Index (BMI) is essential for children's healthy development.
- Childhood obesity is a growing concern, necessitating research into its underlying mechanisms.
- Inhibitory control, a key executive function, is hypothesized to play a role in regulating BMI.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between inhibitory control and children's BMI.
- To identify brain connectivity patterns (neuromarkers) associated with inhibitory control.
- To explore how inhibitory control and its neuromarker influence the link between delayed gratification and BMI in children.
Main Methods:
- Resting-state functional MRI scans were used to assess brain connectivity.
- A connectivity-based psychometric prediction framework was employed.
- A cohort of primary school students (N=64, ages 9-12) participated.
- A one-year follow-up was conducted to assess future BMI.
Main Results:
- Enhanced inhibitory control correlated with increased functional connectivity in executive function brain regions (e.g., superior frontal lobule).
- Inhibitory control showed a negative association with functional connectivity in reward-related brain areas (e.g., orbital frontal lobe).
- Both inhibitory control and its neuromarker moderated the link between food-related delayed gratification and BMI; however, only the neuromarker predicted future BMI after one year.
Conclusions:
- Findings illuminate the neural pathways through which inhibitory control influences children's BMI.
- The connectivity-based neuromarker of inhibitory control shows promise for identifying children at risk for obesity.
- This research supports the development of targeted interventions for childhood obesity by understanding the role of executive functions.
Abstract:
Preserving a normal body mass index (BMI) is crucial for the healthy growth and development of children. As a core aspect of executive functions, inhibitory control plays a pivotal role in maintaining a normal BMI, which is key to preventing issues of childhood obesity. By studying individual variations in inhibitory control performance and its associated connectivity-based neuromarker in a sample of primary school students (N = 64; 9-12 yr), we aimed to unravel the pathway through which inhibitory control impacts children's BMI. Utilizing resting-state functional MRI scans and a connectivity-based psychometric prediction framework, we found that enhanced inhibitory control abilities were primarily associated with increased functional connectivity in brain structures vital to executive functions, such as the superior frontal lobule, superior parietal lobule, and posterior cingulate cortex. Conversely, inhibitory control abilities displayed a negative relationship with functional connectivity originating from reward-related brain structures, such as the orbital frontal and ventral medial prefrontal lobes. Furthermore, we revealed that both inhibitory control and its corresponding neuromarker can moderate the association between food-related delayed gratification and BMI in children. However, only the neuromarker of inhibitory control maintained its moderating effect on children's future BMI, as determined in the follow-up after one year. Overall, our findings shed light on the potential mechanisms of how inhibitory control in children impacts BMI, highlighting the utility of the connectivity-based neuromarker of inhibitory control in the context of childhood obesity.
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