Nadia CF Scantlebury1, Conrad Rockel1,
William Gaetz2, Nicole Law1, Don Mabbott1
1Program in Neuroscience and Mental
Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; 2Biomagnetic
Imaging Laboratory, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
Here
we use the latency between a visual cue and a motor response to measure
reaction time and test the contributions of white matter on information
processing in children. Combined MEG and DTI methods were employed to
delineate tracts that are likely involved in the modulation of signal
transmission for reaction time.
Findings implicate the white matter integrity of the inferior
fronto-occipital fasciculus and the cortico-spinal tracts as important
players in modulating reaction time.
Age-related changes in white matter organization of these tracts are
likely involved in increasing the efficiency of signal transmission and
information processing.