White matter in infancy is prospectively associated with language outcomes in kindergarten

• Main Authors: Jennifer Zuk, Xi Yu, Joseph Sanfilippo, Michael Joseph Figuccio, Jade Dunstan, Clarisa Carruthers, Georgios Sideridis, Ted K. Turesky, Borjan Gagoski, Patricia Ellen Grant, Nadine Gaab
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2021-08-01
• Series: Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
• Subjects: Infancy; White matter; Language; Early childhood; DTI; Neuroimaging
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1878929321000645

Language acquisition is of central importance to child development. Although this developmental trajectory is shaped by experience postnatally, the neural basis for language emerges prenatally. Thus, a fundamental question remains: do structural foundations for language in infancy predict long-term language abilities? Longitudinal investigation of 40 children from infancy to kindergarten reveals that white matter in infancy is prospectively associated with subsequent language abilities, specifically between: (i) left arcuate fasciculus and phonological awareness and vocabulary knowledge, (ii) left corticospinal tract and phonological awareness, and bilateral corticospinal tract with phonological memory; controlling for age, cognitive, and environmental factors. Findings link white matter in infancy with school-age language abilities, suggesting that white matter organization in infancy sets a foundation for long-term language development.