Fixel-Based Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging Reveals Novel Associations Between White Matter Microstructure and Childhood Aggressive Behavior.

Biological Psychiatry : Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging
Rachael GraziopleneDenis G Sukhodolsky

Abstract

Childhood aggression has been linked to white matter abnormalities, but research has been inconsistent with regard to both regions of alterations and directionality of the associations. We examined white matter microstructure correlates of aggression using a novel diffusion imaging analysis technique, fixel-based analysis, which leverages connectivity and crossing-fiber information to assess fiber bundle density. The sample included 70 children with aggressive behavior and 25 healthy control children without aggressive behavior. Aggression was measured by the parent-rated Aggressive Behavior scale of the Child Behavior Checklist. Fixel-based analysis was conducted at the whole-brain and region-of-interest levels, including the uncinate fasciculus, inferior longitudinal fasciculus, fornix, cingulum bundle, and genu, body, isthmus, and splenium of the corpus callosum. Whole-brain analysis of covariance revealed that children with aggressive behavior, relative to control children, had lower fiber density in a cluster of limbic and cortical pathways, including the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, fornix, middle cerebellar peduncle, and superior thalamic radiations (familywise error-corrected p < .01), and had higher fiber dens...Continue Reading

Citations

May 1, 2021·International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health·Myriam Squillaci, Valérie Benoit

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Amygdala: Sensory Processes

Amygdalae, nuclei clusters located in the temporal lobe of the brain, play a role in memory, emotional responses, and decision-making. Here is the latest research on sensory processes in the amygdala.

Attention Disorders

Attention is involved in all cognitive activities, and attention disorders are reported in patients with various neurological diseases. Here are the latest discoveries pertaining to attention disorders.