Structural Neuroplastic Responses Preserve Functional Connectivity and Neurobehavioural Outcomes in Children Born Without Corpus Callosum

Vanessa Siffredi*, Maria G Preti, Valeria Kebets, Silvia Obertino, Richard J Leventer, Alissandra McIlroy, Amanda G Wood, Vicki Anderson, Megan M Spencer-Smith, Dimitri Van De Ville

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The corpus callosum is the largest white matter pathway in the brain connecting the two hemispheres. In the context of developmental absence (agenesis) of the corpus callosum (AgCC), a proposed candidate for neuroplastic response is strengthening of intrahemispheric pathways. To test this hypothesis, we assessed structural and functional connectivity in a uniquely large cohort of children with AgCC (n = 20) compared with typically developing controls (TDC, n = 29), and then examined associations with neurobehavioral outcomes using a multivariate data-driven approach (partial least squares correlation, PLSC). For structural connectivity, children with AgCC showed a significant increase in intrahemispheric connectivity in addition to a significant decrease in interhemispheric connectivity compared with TDC, in line with the aforementioned hypothesis. In contrast, for functional connectivity, children with AgCC and TDC showed a similar pattern of intrahemispheric and interhemispheric connectivity. In conclusion, we observed structural strengthening of intrahemispheric pathways in children born without corpus callosum, which seems to allow for functional connectivity comparable to a typically developing brain, and were relevant to explain neurobehavioral outcomes in this population. This neuroplasticity might be relevant to other disorders of axonal guidance, and developmental disorders in which corpus callosum alteration is observed.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1227–1239
Number of pages13
JournalCerebral Cortex
Volume31
Issue number2
Early online date27 Oct 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Feb 2021

Keywords

  • brain plasticity
  • callosal agenesis
  • functional connectivity
  • structural connectivity
  • structural reorganization

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Structural Neuroplastic Responses Preserve Functional Connectivity and Neurobehavioural Outcomes in Children Born Without Corpus Callosum'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this