TY - JOUR
T1 - Intra- and inter-hemispheric structural connectome in agenesis of the corpus callosum
AU - Shi, Minghui
AU - Freitas, Lorena G.A.
AU - Spencer-Smith, Megan M.
AU - Kebets, Valeria
AU - Anderson, Vicki
AU - McIlroy, Alissandra
AU - Wood, Amanda G.
AU - Leventer, Richard J.
AU - Van De Ville, Dimitri
AU - Siffredi, Vanessa
N1 - Funding Information:
We gratefully acknowledge the families who participated in this study and Kate Pope for her assistance in recruitment of the families. This study was supported by the Boninchi Foundation from the University of Geneva; the Victorian Government’s Operational Infrastructure Support Program; and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. Professor Amanda Wood is supported by a European Research Council Consolidator Fellowship [682734]. Associate Professor Richard Leventer is supported by a Melbourne Children’s Clinician Scientist Fellowship. Professor Vicki Anderson was supported by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council Senior Practitioner Fellowship.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Author(s)
Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Agenesis of the corpus callosum (AgCC) is a congenital brain malformation characterized by the complete or partial failure to develop the corpus callosum. Despite missing the largest white matter bundle connecting the left and right hemispheres of the brain, studies have shown preserved inter-hemispheric communication in individuals with AgCC. It is likely that plasticity provides mechanisms for the brain to adjust in the context of AgCC, as the malformation disrupts programmed developmental brain processes very early on. A proposed candidate for neuroplastic response in individuals with AgCC is strengthening of intra-hemispheric structural connections. In the present study, we explore this hypothesis using a graph-based approach of the structural connectome, which enables intra- and inter-hemispheric analyses at multiple resolutions and quantification of structural characteristics through graph metrics. Structural graph metrics of 19 children with AgCC (13 with complete, 6 with partial AgCC) were compared to those of 29 typically developing controls (TDC). Associations between structural graph metrics and a wide range of neurobehavioral outcomes were examined using a multivariate data-driven approach (Partial Least Squares Correlation, PLSC). Our results provide new evidence suggesting structural strengthening of intra-hemispheric pathways as a neuroplastic response in the acallosal brain, and highlight regional variability in structural connectivity in children with AgCC compared to TDC. There was little evidence that structural graph properties in children with AgCC were associated with neurobehavioral outcomes. To our knowledge, this is the first report leveraging graph theory tools to explicitly characterize whole-brain intra- and inter-hemispheric structural connectivity in AgCC, opening avenues for future research on neuroplastic responses in AgCC.
AB - Agenesis of the corpus callosum (AgCC) is a congenital brain malformation characterized by the complete or partial failure to develop the corpus callosum. Despite missing the largest white matter bundle connecting the left and right hemispheres of the brain, studies have shown preserved inter-hemispheric communication in individuals with AgCC. It is likely that plasticity provides mechanisms for the brain to adjust in the context of AgCC, as the malformation disrupts programmed developmental brain processes very early on. A proposed candidate for neuroplastic response in individuals with AgCC is strengthening of intra-hemispheric structural connections. In the present study, we explore this hypothesis using a graph-based approach of the structural connectome, which enables intra- and inter-hemispheric analyses at multiple resolutions and quantification of structural characteristics through graph metrics. Structural graph metrics of 19 children with AgCC (13 with complete, 6 with partial AgCC) were compared to those of 29 typically developing controls (TDC). Associations between structural graph metrics and a wide range of neurobehavioral outcomes were examined using a multivariate data-driven approach (Partial Least Squares Correlation, PLSC). Our results provide new evidence suggesting structural strengthening of intra-hemispheric pathways as a neuroplastic response in the acallosal brain, and highlight regional variability in structural connectivity in children with AgCC compared to TDC. There was little evidence that structural graph properties in children with AgCC were associated with neurobehavioral outcomes. To our knowledge, this is the first report leveraging graph theory tools to explicitly characterize whole-brain intra- and inter-hemispheric structural connectivity in AgCC, opening avenues for future research on neuroplastic responses in AgCC.
KW - Agenesis of the corpus callosum
KW - Brain plasticity
KW - Graph metrics
KW - Structural connectome
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85107733525&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.nicl.2021.102709
DO - 10.1016/j.nicl.2021.102709
M3 - Article
C2 - 34130191
AN - SCOPUS:85107733525
SN - 2213-1582
VL - 31
JO - NeuroImage: Clinical
JF - NeuroImage: Clinical
M1 - 102709
ER -