Influences of the early family environment and long-term vocabulary development on the structure of white matter pathways: A longitudinal investigation

Mengmeng Su; Michel Thiebaut de Schotten; Jingjing Zhao; Shuang Song; Wei Zhou; Gaolang Gong; Catherine McBride; Twila Tardif; Franck Ramus; Hua Shu

doi:10.1016/j.dcn.2020.100767

Influences of the early family environment and long-term vocabulary development on the structure of white matter pathways: A longitudinal investigation

Dev Cogn Neurosci. 2020 Apr:42:100767. doi: 10.1016/j.dcn.2020.100767. Epub 2020 Feb 4.

Authors

Mengmeng Su¹, Michel Thiebaut de Schotten², Jingjing Zhao³, Shuang Song⁴, Wei Zhou⁵, Gaolang Gong⁶, Catherine McBride⁷, Twila Tardif⁸, Franck Ramus⁹, Hua Shu¹⁰

Affiliations

¹ College of Elementary Education, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China.
² Brain Connectivity and Behaviour Group, Brain and Spine Institute (ICM), CNRS UMR 7225, INSERM-UPMC UMRS 1127, Paris, France.
³ School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University and Key Laboratory for Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience of Shaanxi Province, Xi'an, China.
⁴ College of Teacher Education, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China.
⁵ Beijing Key Lab of Learning and Cognition, School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China.
⁶ State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
⁷ Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
⁸ Department of Psychology and Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, USA.
⁹ Laboratoire de Sciences Cognitives et Psycholinguistique (ENS, CNRS, EHESS), Ecole Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University, Paris, France. Electronic address: franck.ramus@ens.fr.
¹⁰ State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China. Electronic address: shuh@bnu.edu.cn.

Abstract

In the present longitudinal study, we investigated the joint effect of early family factors and long-term vocabulary development on the structure of reading-related white matter pathways in adolescents. Seventy-nine children participated in this study. Family environment was measured via parental questionnaire between age 1 and age 3. From age 4 to age 10, children's vocabulary skills were tested annually. At age 14, diffusion tensor imaging data of the children were collected. Using individual-based tractography, 10 reading-related tracts of the two hemispheres were delineated. Different family factors were found to be correlated with different pathways: Age of literacy exposure was correlated with fractional anisotropy of the direct segment of the left arcuate fasciculus, while an association trend was found between early family socioeconomic status and fractional anisotropy of the left inferior frontal occipital fasciculus. Further regression analyses showed that the age of literacy exposure modulated the relationships between vocabulary development and the structure of the left arcuate fasciculus. Specifically, in the earlier literacy exposure group, no association was found between vocabulary development and the strength of the arcuate fasciculus, whereas in the later literacy exposure group, significant associations were found between vocabulary development and the strength of the arcuate fasciculus.

Keywords: Family environment; Reading; Vocabulary development; White matter tracts.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Child
Child, Preschool
Family Health / standards*
Female
Humans
Infant
Longitudinal Studies
Male
White Matter / anatomy & histology*