Investigation of Psychiatric and Neuropsychological Correlates of Default Mode Network and Dorsal Attention Network Anticorrelation in Children.
M. Owens, D. Yuan, S. Hahn, Matthew D. Albaugh, N. Allgaier, B. Chaarani, A. Potter, H. Garavan
Cerebral Cortex December 18, 2019 preprint DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/y52rx (opens in new tab) via Semantic Scholar
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractThe default mode network (DMN) and dorsal attention network (DAN) typically show an 'anticorrelation' in healthy adults, reflecting a separation between internal and external thought. Reduced separation of these networks has been proposed as a mechanism for cognitive deficits in psychiatric disorders, but this link had rarely been tested in pre-adolescent children. Using data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study, the largest sample to date of 9- to 10-year-old children (N=6543), the analysis examined the relationship between DMN/DAN anticorrelation strength and psychiatric symptoms.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Observational cohort |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 6,543 |
| Population | 9- to 10-year-old children |
| Keywords | Psychology Medicine |
| Key finding | DMN/DAN anticorrelation was robustly linked to attention problems, age, sex, and socioeconomic factors, but other psychiatric correlates were not robust after controlling for demographics. |
Abstract
The default mode network (DMN) and dorsal attention network (DAN) demonstrate an intrinsic "anticorrelation" in healthy adults, which is thought to represent the functional segregation between internally and externally directed thought. Reduced segregation of these networks has been proposed as a mechanism for cognitive deficits that occurs in many psychiatric disorders, but this association has rarely been tested in pre-adolescent children. The current analysis used data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study to examine the relationship between the strength of DMN/DAN anticorrelation and psychiatric symptoms in the largest sample to date of 9- to 10-year-old children (N = 6543). The relationship of DMN/DAN anticorrelation to a battery of neuropsychological tests was also assessed. DMN/DAN anticorrelation was robustly linked to attention problems, as well as age, sex, and socioeconomic factors. Other psychiatric correlates identified in prior reports were not robustly linked to DMN/DAN anticorrelation after controlling for demographic covariates. Among neuropsychological measures, the clearest correlates of DMN/DAN anticorrelation were the Card Sort task of executive function and cognitive flexibility and the NIH Toolbox Total Cognitive Score, although these did not survive correction for socioeconomic factors. These findings indicate a complicated relationship between DMN/DAN anticorrelation and demographics, neuropsychological function, and psychiatric problems.