White matter microstructure and its association with visuospatial processing development during early infancy

This study assessed relations between white matter microstructure at one month of age and visuospatial processing abilities at six months of age. Participants included ninety-one infants (n = 48 female) born after singleton non-complicated pregnancy. The infants underwent MRI at one month of age and a behavioral assessment at six months of age. Results revealed that the intensity of toy play was associated with fractional anisotropy (FA) of the right (t = 3.002, adjusted p = 0.038) and left superior cerebellar peduncle (t = 2.799, adjusted p = 0.038) and right cingulate gyrus (t = 2.908, adjusted p = 0.0038) while Gaze Shifting was associated with mean diffusivity and axial diffusivity of the right superior cerebellar peduncle (t = 3.099, adjusted p = 0.048). No other correlations, including those studied interactions with biological sex, were significant after adjusting for multiple comparisons. The findings support the notion that developing white matter microstructure, as measured by diffusion MRI metrics, plays a role in the development of visuospatial processing. Future studies should explore how these relationships develop and predict visuospatial ability and working memory later in life.