Cortical and white matter correlates of language-learning aptitudes
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Cortical and white matter correlates of language-learning aptitudes. / Novén, Mikael; Olsson, Hampus; Helms, Gunther; Horne, Merle; Nilsson, Markus; Roll, Mikael.
In: Human Brain Mapping, Vol. 42, No. 15, 2021, p. 5037-5050.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Cortical and white matter correlates of language-learning aptitudes
AU - Novén, Mikael
AU - Olsson, Hampus
AU - Helms, Gunther
AU - Horne, Merle
AU - Nilsson, Markus
AU - Roll, Mikael
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Authors. Human Brain Mapping published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - People learn new languages with varying degrees of success but what are the neuroanatomical correlates of the difference in language-learning aptitude? In this study, we set out to investigate how differences in cortical morphology and white matter microstructure correlate with aptitudes for vocabulary learning, phonetic memory, and grammatical inferencing as measured by the first-language neutral LLAMA test battery. We used ultra-high field (7T) magnetic resonance imaging to estimate the cortical thickness and surface area from sub-millimeter resolved image volumes. Further, diffusion kurtosis imaging was used to map diffusion properties related to the tissue microstructure from known language-related white matter tracts. We found a correlation between cortical surface area in the left posterior-inferior precuneus and vocabulary learning aptitude, possibly indicating a greater predisposition for storing word-figure associations. Moreover, we report negative correlations between scores for phonetic memory and axial kurtosis in left arcuate fasciculus as well as mean kurtosis, axial kurtosis, and radial kurtosis of the left superior longitudinal fasciculus III, which are tracts connecting cortical areas important for phonological working memory.
AB - People learn new languages with varying degrees of success but what are the neuroanatomical correlates of the difference in language-learning aptitude? In this study, we set out to investigate how differences in cortical morphology and white matter microstructure correlate with aptitudes for vocabulary learning, phonetic memory, and grammatical inferencing as measured by the first-language neutral LLAMA test battery. We used ultra-high field (7T) magnetic resonance imaging to estimate the cortical thickness and surface area from sub-millimeter resolved image volumes. Further, diffusion kurtosis imaging was used to map diffusion properties related to the tissue microstructure from known language-related white matter tracts. We found a correlation between cortical surface area in the left posterior-inferior precuneus and vocabulary learning aptitude, possibly indicating a greater predisposition for storing word-figure associations. Moreover, we report negative correlations between scores for phonetic memory and axial kurtosis in left arcuate fasciculus as well as mean kurtosis, axial kurtosis, and radial kurtosis of the left superior longitudinal fasciculus III, which are tracts connecting cortical areas important for phonological working memory.
KW - Cortical morphometry
KW - Cortical surface area
KW - Cortical thickness
KW - dwMRI
KW - Language-learning aptitude
KW - Ultra-high field
U2 - 10.1002/hbm.25598
DO - 10.1002/hbm.25598
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 34288240
AN - SCOPUS:85110558432
VL - 42
SP - 5037
EP - 5050
JO - Human Brain Mapping
JF - Human Brain Mapping
SN - 1065-9471
IS - 15
ER -
ID: 305549518