Improved frontoparietal white matter integrity in overweight children is associated with attendance at an after-school exercise program.

Aerobic fitness is associated with white matter integrity (WMI) in adults as measured by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). This study examined the effect of an 8-month exercise intervention on WMI in children. Participants were 18 sedentary, overweight (BMI≥85th percentile) 8- to 11-year-old children (94% Black), randomly assigned to either an aerobic exercise (n=10) or sedentary attention control group (n=8). Each group was offered an instructor-led after-school program every school day for approximately 8 months. Before and after the program, all subjects participated in DTI scans. Tractography was conducted to isolate the superior longitudinal fasciculus and investigate whether the exercise intervention affected WMI in this region. There was no group by time interaction for WMI in the superior longitudinal fasciculus. There was a group by time by attendance interaction, however, such that higher attendance at the exercise intervention, but not the control intervention, was associated with increased WMI. Heart rate and the total dose of exercise correlated with WMI changes in the exercise group. In the overall sample, increased WMI was associated with improved scores on a measure of attention and improved teacher ratings of executive function. This study indicates that participating in an exercise intervention improves WMI in children as compared to a sedentary after-school program.

Individual differences in working memory moderate the relationship between prosaccade latency and antisaccade error rate.

Cognitive control is required for flexible responses in changing environments and can be assessed by measuring antisaccade error rate. Considerable variance in antisaccade error rate is observed in healthy participants, which motivated the current study to explore the cognitive factors affecting antisaccade performance. Relationships exist between prosaccade latency and antisaccade error rate, with faster prosaccade latencies linked to more antisaccade errors. Individual differences in working memory also impact saccadic performance. The current study tested the relationships among prosaccade latency, antisaccade error rate, and working memory in 153 healthy participants. Correlation and multiple regression analyses demonstrated that prosaccade latency predicted antisaccade error rate, and working memory moderated this relationship. These results may help elucidate individual differences in cognitive control among healthy individuals.

Antisaccade-related brain activation in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder--A pilot study.

While antisaccade paradigms invoke circuitry associated with cognitive control and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), there is a dearth of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) investigations using antisaccade tasks among children with ADHD. Neural correlates associated with antisaccade performance were examined with fMRI in 11 children with ADHD (10 medicated) matched to 11 typically developing children. Significantly greater brain activation in regions in right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and caudate nucleus was observed in children with ADHD relative to the control group. This pattern separated the children into their respective groups in a taxonomic manner. Sensitivity analyses probing comorbidity and medication-specific effects showed that results were consistent; however, the caudate nucleus difference was only detectable in the full sample, or in subsets with a more relaxed cluster threshold. Antisaccade performance did not significantly differ between the groups, perhaps as a result of greater brain activation or medication effects in the ADHD group. Thus, antisaccade paradigms may have sensitivity and specificity for the investigation of cognitive control deficits and associated neural correlates in ADHD, and may contribute towards the development of new treatment approaches for children with the disorder.

The relationship between uncinate fasciculus white matter integrity and verbal memory proficiency in children.

During childhood, verbal learning and memory are important for academic performance. Recent functional MRI studies have reported on the functional correlates of verbal memory proficiency, but few have reported the underlying structural correlates. The present study sought to test the relationship between fronto-temporal white matter integrity and verbal memory proficiency in children. Diffusion weighted images were collected from 17 Black children (age 8-11 years) who also completed the California Verbal Learning Test. To index white matter integrity, fractional anisotropy values were calculated for bilateral uncinate fasciculus. The results revealed that low anisotropy values corresponded to poor verbal memory, whereas high anisotropy values corresponded to significantly better verbal memory scores. These findings suggest that a greater degree of myelination and cohesiveness of axonal fibers in uncinate fasciculus underlie better verbal memory proficiency in children.

An 8-month exercise intervention alters frontotemporal white matter integrity in overweight children.

In childhood, excess adiposity and low fitness are linked to poor academic performance, lower cognitive function, and differences in brain structure. Identifying ways to mitigate obesity-related alterations is of current clinical importance. This study examined the effects of an 8-month exercise intervention on the uncinate fasciculus, a white matter fiber tract connecting frontal and temporal lobes. Participants consisted of 18 unfit, overweight 8- to 11-year-old children (94% Black) who were randomly assigned to either an aerobic exercise (n = 10) or a sedentary control group (n = 8). Before and after the intervention, all subjects participated in a diffusion tensor MRI scan. Tractography was conducted to isolate the uncinate fasciculus. The exercise group showed improved white matter integrity as compared to the control group. These findings are consistent with an emerging literature suggesting beneficial effects of exercise on white matter integrity.

An 8-month randomized controlled exercise trial alters brain activation during cognitive tasks in overweight children.

OBJECTIVE: Children who are less fit reportedly have lower performance on tests of cognitive control and differences in brain function. This study examined the effect of an exercise intervention on brain function during two cognitive control tasks in overweight children. DESIGN AND METHODS: Participants included 43 unfit, overweight (BMI ≥ 85th percentile) children 8- to 11-years old (91% Black), who were randomly divided into either an aerobic exercise (n = 24) or attention control group (n = 19). Each group was offered a separate instructor-led after-school program every school day for 8 months. Before and after the program, all children performed two cognitive control tasks during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI): antisaccade and flanker. RESULTS: Compared to the control group, the exercise group decreased activation in several regions supporting antisaccade performance, including precentral gyrus and posterior parietal cortex, and increased activation in several regions supporting flanker performance, including anterior cingulate and superior frontal gyrus. CONCLUSIONS: Exercise may differentially impact these two task conditions, or the paradigms in which cognitive control tasks were presented may be sensitive to distinct types of brain activation that show different effects of exercise. In sum, exercise appears to alter efficiency or flexible modulation of neural circuitry supporting cognitive control in overweight children.