Brain Topogr. 2025 Jul 26;38(5):54. doi: 10.1007/s10548-025-01129-8.
ABSTRACT
Inhibitory control (IC) develops in stages from infancy through adolescence and is associated with numerous developmental disorders and learning outcomes. This study examined how neural architecture – in particular myelination – underlies brain activation patterns observed during IC tasks in a sample of 28 children aged 4-10 years old. IC was observed using reaction times during go/no-go and flanker IC tasks. Myelination was measured using quantitative longitudinal relaxation rate (R1) mapping obtained from selected white matter regions of interest (ROIs). Brain activation was defined as task-related changes in hemoglobin oxygenation as measured by functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) averaged within ROIs. Results indicated that myelination in ROIs was higher in older children and fNIRS activation in frontal channels was significantly and positively associated with go/no-go mean reaction time. Myelination in the corona radiata and superior longitudinal fasciculus was positively associated with frontal fNIRS activation, while myelination was negatively associated with go/no-go and flanker mean reaction times across white matter ROIs. Overall, significance level notably varied across models. Independently of inhibitory control constructs, these regions may be of interest in future structure-function studies across development.
PMID:40715851 | DOI:10.1007/s10548-025-01129-8
