Structural core of the executive control network: A high angular resolution diffusion MRI study.
Kai-Kai ShenThomas WeltonMatthew LyonAndrew N McCorkindaleGreg T SutherlandSamantha BurnhamJurgen FrippRalph MartinsStuart M GrievePublished in: Human brain mapping (2019)
Executive function (EF) is a set of cognitive capabilities considered essential for successful daily living, and is negatively affected by ageing and neurodegenerative conditions. Underpinning EF performance are functional nodes in the executive control network (ECN), while the structural connectivity underlying this network is not well understood. In this paper, we evaluated the structural white matter tracts that interconnect the ECN and investigated their relationship to the EF performance. Using high-angular resolution diffusion MRI data, we performed tractography analysis of structural connectivity in a cognitively normal cohort (n = 140), specifically targeting the connectivity between ECN nodes. Our data revealed the presence of a strongly-connected "structural core" of the ECN comprising three components: interhemispheric frontal connections, a fronto-parietal subnetwork and fronto-striatal connections between right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and right caudate. These pathways were strongly correlated with EF performance (p = .003). Post-hoc analysis of subregions within the significant ECN connections showed that these effects were driven by a highly specific subset of interconnected cortical regions. The structural core subnetwork of the functional ECN may be an important feature crucial to a better future understanding of human cognition and behaviour.
Keyphrases
- white matter
- functional connectivity
- prefrontal cortex
- working memory
- resting state
- multiple sclerosis
- magnetic resonance imaging
- endothelial cells
- computed tomography
- electronic health record
- radiation therapy
- machine learning
- squamous cell carcinoma
- single cell
- cognitive decline
- deep learning
- big data
- transcranial magnetic stimulation
- high resolution
- diffusion weighted imaging
- atomic force microscopy
- drug delivery
- data analysis
- artificial intelligence
- high speed
- pluripotent stem cells