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Associations of Behavioral Problems and White Matter Properties of the Cerebellar Peduncles in Boys and Girls Born Full Term and Preterm

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Abstract

Accumulating evidence suggests that the role of cerebellum includes regulation of behaviors; cerebellar impairment may lead to behavioral problems. Behavioral problems differ by sex: internalizing problems are more common in girls, externalizing problems in boys. Behavioral problems are also elevated in children born preterm (PT) compared to children born full term (FT). The current study examined internalizing and externalizing problems in 8-year-old children in relation to sex, birth-group, fractional anisotropy (FA) of the three cerebellar peduncles (superior, middle, and inferior), and interactions among these predictor variables. Participants (N = 78) were 44 boys (28 PT) and 34 girls (15 PT). We assessed behavioral problems via standardized parent reports and FA of the cerebellar peduncles using deterministic tractography. Internalizing problems were higher in children born PT compared to children born FT (p = .032); the interaction of sex and birth-group was significant (p = .044). When considering the contribution of the mean-tract FA of cerebellar peduncles to behavioral problems, there was a significant interaction of sex and mean-tract FA of the inferior cerebellar peduncle (ICP) with internalizing problems; the slope was negative in girls (p = .020) but not in boys. In boys, internalizing problems were only associated with mean-tract FA ICP in those born preterm (p = .010). We found no other significant associations contributing to internalizing or externalizing problems. Thus, we found sexual dimorphism and birth-group differences in the association of white matter metrics of the ICP and internalizing problems in school-aged children. The findings inform theories of the origins of internalizing behavioral problems in middle childhood and may suggest approaches to treatment at school age.

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Funding

This work was supported by National Institutes of Health (NICHD grants RO1-HD069162 A and 2RO1-HD069150) and Health Resources and Services Administration Maternal Child Health Bureau (T77MC09796) to Heidi M. Feldman. Machiko Hosoki is the Charles B. Woodruff Endowed Fellow of the Maternal Child Health Research Institute, Stanford University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Developmental and Behavioral Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, 3145 Porter Drive Mail Code 5395, Palo Alto, CA, 94304, USA

    Machiko Hosoki, Lisa Bruckert, Katherine E. Travis & Heidi M. Feldman

  2. Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

    Lauren R. Borchers & Virginia A. Marchman

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  1. Machiko Hosoki
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  2. Lisa Bruckert
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Correspondence to Heidi M. Feldman.

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Hosoki, M., Bruckert, L., Borchers, L.R. et al. Associations of Behavioral Problems and White Matter Properties of the Cerebellar Peduncles in Boys and Girls Born Full Term and Preterm. Cerebellum 22, 163–172 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12311-022-01375-7

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