Folding of the anterior cingulate cortex partially explains inhibitory control during childhood: a longitudinal study

Abstract

Difficulties in cognitive control including inhibitory control (IC) are related to the pathophysiology of several psychiatric conditions. In healthy subjects, IC efficiency in childhood is a strong predictor of academic and professional successes later in life. The dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is one of the core structures responsible for IC. Although quantitative structural characteristics of the ACC contribute to IC efficiency, the qualitative structural brain characteristics contributing to IC development are less-understood. Using anatomical magnetic resonance imaging, we investigated whether the ACC sulcal pattern at age 5, a stable qualitative characteristic of the brain determined in utero, explains IC at age 9. 18 children performed Stroop tasks at age 5 and age 9. Children with asymmetrical ACC sulcal patterns (n=7) had better IC efficiency at age 5 and age 9 than children with symmetrical ACC sulcal patterns (n=11). The ACC sulcal patterns appear to affect specifically IC efficiency given that the ACC sulcal patterns had no effect on verbal working memory. Our study provides the first evidence that the ACC sulcal pattern - a qualitative structural characteristic of the brain not affected by maturation and learning after birth - partially explains IC efficiency during childhood.

Keywords: Anterior cingulate cortex; Brain imaging; Cognitive control; Inhibitory control; Stroop; Sulcal pattern.

Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Figures

Fig. 1

ACC sulcal pattern classification and assessment of IC efficiency. The figure depicts the two types of ACC sulcal patterns (sulci are depicted in blue on the gray/white interface): ‘single’ type when only the cingulate sulcus was present and ‘double parallel’ type when a paracingulate sulcus ran parallel to the cingulate sulcus (A). The figure also depicts examples of stimuli in the conflict and no-conflict conditions of the Animal Stroop task (B) and the Color-Word Stroop task (C). (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

Fig. 2

ACC sulcal pattern of each child. 3-D mesh-based reconstructions of the cingulate sulcus (turquoise) and PCS (blue) of each child at age 5 in the left (top) and the right (bottom) hemispheres. Other sulci of the cortex are depicted in light gray. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

Fig. 3

Interindividual variability of the ACC sulcal pattern of the children (A) and IC efficiency in the children with asymmetrical and symmetrical ACC sulcal patterns at age 5 (B) and at age 9 (C). (A) 3-D mesh-based reconstructions of the cingulate sulcus (turquoise) and PCS (blue) of each child at age 5 are depicted on the same gray/white interface after being linearly aligned in a common referential (MNI-space). (B) and (C) Mean Stroop interference scores at age 5 (on the Animal Stroop task) and at age 9 (on the Color-Word Stroop task) in children with symmetrical (single or double parallel type in both hemispheres; n = 11) and asymmetrical (single type in the right hemisphere and double type in the left hemisphere or vice versa; n = 7) ACC sulcal patterns. Children with asymmetrical ACC sulcal patterns at age 5 had lower Stroop interference scores than children with symmetrical ACC sulcal patterns at age 5, t(16) = 3.07, p = .0004, d = 1.49, and at age 9, t(16) = 2.85, p = .006, d = 1.38. Error bar denotes standard error of the mean (SEM); *p < .05. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)