Skip Navigation



Cerebral Cortex Advance Access published online on June 16, 2006
Cerebral Cortex, doi:10.1093/cercor/bhl019
This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
17/5/1092    most recent
bhl019v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Lu, L.H.
Right arrow Articles by Sowell, E.R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Lu, L.H.
Right arrow Articles by Sowell, E.R.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Article

Normal Developmental Changes in Inferior Frontal Gray Matter Are Associated with Improvement in Phonological Processing: A Longitudinal MRI Analysis

L.H. Lu 1 *, C.M. Leonard 2, P.M. Thompson 1, E. Kan 1, J. Jolley 1, S.E. Welcome 1, A.W. Toga 1, and E.R. Sowell 1

1 Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, Department of Neurology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1769, USA
2 Department of Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
L.H. Lu, E-mail: lisa.lu{at}loni.ucla.edu


  Abstract

This study asked whether previously identified developmental changes in the gray matter of the left inferior frontal gyrus are associated with maturation of a linguistic skill. To test this hypothesis, we examined whether thickening of this region was correlated with developmental improvements in phonological processing but not hand motor skills in a unique longitudinal data set of 45 normally developing children (between ages 5 and 11 years) studied over a 2-year interval. We analyzed structural magnetic resonance imaging data using cortical pattern matching methods and correlated within-individual changes in cortical thickness with 2 neurocognitive scores. As predicted, gray matter thickening in the left inferior frontal cortex was associated with improving phonological processing scores but not with improving hand motor skills. By contrast, motor skill improvement was associated with thinning in the hand region of the left motor cortex, and cortical change in this region was not associated with phonological processing. This study illustrates a specific correspondence between regional gray matter thickness change and language skill change in normally developing children.

Keywords: cortical thickness; inferior frontal gyrus; morphometry; motor; phonological processing.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Cereb CortexHome page
L. H. Lu, M. Dapretto, E. D. O'Hare, E. Kan, S. T. McCourt, P. M. Thompson, A. W. Toga, S. Y. Bookheimer, and E. R. Sowell
Relationships between Brain Activation and Brain Structure in Normally Developing Children
Cereb Cortex, November 1, 2009; 19(11): 2595 - 2604.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Cereb CortexHome page
X. Wang, M. Gerken, M. Dennis, R. Mooney, J. Kane, S. Khuder, H. Xie, W. Bauer, A. V. Apkarian, and J. Wall
Profiles of Precentral and Postcentral Cortical Mean Thicknesses in Individual Subjects over Acute and Subacute Time-Scales
Cereb Cortex, October 13, 2009; (2009) bhp226v1.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Cereb CortexHome page
A. Raznahan, R. Toro, E. Daly, D. Robertson, C. Murphy, Q. Deeley, P. F. Bolton, T. Paus, and D. G. M. Murphy
Cortical Anatomy in Autism Spectrum Disorder: An In Vivo MRI Study on the Effect of Age
Cereb Cortex, October 9, 2009; (2009) bhp198v1.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Arch Gen PsychiatryHome page
P. Shaw, F. Lalonde, C. Lepage, C. Rabin, K. Eckstrand, W. Sharp, D. Greenstein, A. Evans, J. N. Giedd, and J. Rapoport
Development of Cortical Asymmetry in Typically Developing Children and Its Disruption in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Arch Gen Psychiatry, August 1, 2009; 66(8): 888 - 896.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USAHome page
M. Somel, H. Franz, Z. Yan, A. Lorenc, S. Guo, T. Giger, J. Kelso, B. Nickel, M. Dannemann, S. Bahn, et al.
Transcriptional neoteny in the human brain
PNAS, April 7, 2009; 106(14): 5743 - 5748.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Neurosci.Home page
P. Shaw, N. J. Kabani, J. P. Lerch, K. Eckstrand, R. Lenroot, N. Gogtay, D. Greenstein, L. Clasen, A. Evans, J. L. Rapoport, et al.
Neurodevelopmental Trajectories of the Human Cerebral Cortex
J. Neurosci., April 2, 2008; 28(14): 3586 - 3594.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Cereb CortexHome page
E. R. Sowell, S. N. Mattson, E. Kan, P. M. Thompson, E. P. Riley, and A. W. Toga
Abnormal Cortical Thickness and Brain Behavior Correlation Patterns in Individuals with Heavy Prenatal Alcohol Exposure
Cereb Cortex, January 1, 2008; 18(1): 136 - 144.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Br. J. Radiol.Home page
P M THOMPSON and L G APOSTOLOVA
Computational anatomical methods as applied to ageing and dementia
Br. J. Radiol., December 1, 2007; 80(Special_Issue_2): S78 - S91.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.