Cerebellar Volume and Executive Function in ...

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William T. Mahle, M.D.. 2. Tricia Z. King, Ph.D. 1 ... This study investigates cerebellar (CB) involvement in executive function (EF) in young adults with congenital ...
Cerebellar Volume and Executive Function in Congenital Heart Disease Authors: Eric S. Semmel, B.A.1 Vonetta Dotson, Ph.D. 1 Thomas G. Burns, Psy.D.2 William T. Mahle, M.D.2 Tricia Z. King, Ph.D.1 1 2

Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory University Medical School, Atlanta, GA

Objective This study investigates cerebellar (CB) involvement in executive function (EF) in young adults with congenital heart disease (CHD). We expect that CHD patients will have smaller CB volumes and perform more poorly on measures of EF. Based on previous research, we expect a functional dissociation between posterior and anterior areas of the CB such that posterior lobules are related to cognition and anterior areas to motor function. We also expect that the CB will contribute to EF beyond processing speed alone. Participants & Methods 22 participants with CHD and 22 matched controls were assessed with Verbal Fluency (VF), Trail Making (TMT), and Color-Word Interference (CWI) on the D-KEFS; WASI Matrix Reasoning (MR); BRIEF; Oral Symbol Digit Modalities Test; and Grooved Pegboard (GP). CB volumes were calculated with the SUIT toolbox for SPM8. t-tests assessed group differences. Pearson’s correlations and Fisher’s Z Test assessed relationships between the CB and outcomes. Linear regression tested whether CB volume predicts EF above and beyond processing speed. Results Group differences emerged for the posterior CB, CWI Inhibition, MR, BRIEF GEC, and GP, all lower in CHD (d=.64-1.01). CWI Inhibition and GP were significantly correlated with the posterior CB but not the anterior CB, while MR was correlated with both. The strengths of the correlations with CWI Inhibition and Inhibition-Switching were significantly higher with the posterior CB compared to the anterior. Posterior CB volume significantly accounted for variance above and beyond processing speed in predicting CWI Inhibition and MR. Conclusions Our results support previous findings of cognitive and motor deficits in CHD. Although we found differences in correlation strength, we were unable to demonstrate a double dissociation between anterior and posterior CB. Our findings demonstrate that the posterior CB does, however, contribute to EF skills above and beyond processing speed. Implications for future research and methodology will be discussed.