Stunting in infancy is associated with atypical activation of working memory and attention networks

Sobanawartiny Wijeakumar; Samuel H Forbes; Vincent A. Magnotta; Sean Deoni; Kiara Jackson; Vinay P Singh; Madhuri  Tiwari; Aarti Kumar; John P Spencer

doi:10.1038/s41562-023-01725-3

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Stunting in infancy is associated with atypical activation of working memory and attention networks

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Stunting in infancy is associated with atypical activation of working memory and attention networks

Sobanawartiny Wijeakumar, Samuel H Forbes, Vincent A. Magnotta, Sean Deoni, Kiara Jackson, Vinay P Singh, Madhuri Tiwari, Aarti Kumar and John P Spencer

Nature human behaviour, Vol.7(12), pp.2199-2211

12/2023

DOI: 10.1038/s41562-023-01725-3

PMCID: PMC10730391

PMID: 37884677

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Abstract

Stunting is associated with poor long-term cognitive, academic and economic outcomes, yet the mechanisms through which stunting impacts cognition in early development remain unknown. In a first-ever neuroimaging study conducted on infants from rural India, we demonstrate that stunting impacts a critical, early-developing cognitive system—visual working memory. Stunted infants showed poor visual working memory performance and were easily distractible. Poor performance was associated with reduced engagement of the left anterior intraparietal sulcus, a region involved in visual working memory maintenance and greater suppression in the right temporoparietal junction, a region involved in attentional shifting. When assessed one year later, stunted infants had lower problem-solving scores, while infants of normal height with greater left anterior intraparietal sulcus activation showed higher problem-solving scores. Finally, short-for-age infants with poor physical growth indices but good visual working memory performance showed more positive outcomes suggesting that intervention efforts should focus on improving working memory and reducing distractibility in infancy.

Details

Title: Subtitle: Stunting in infancy is associated with atypical activation of working memory and attention networks
Creators: Sobanawartiny Wijeakumar
Samuel H Forbes
Vincent A. Magnotta - University of Iowa
Sean Deoni - Gates Foundation
Kiara Jackson - University of East Anglia
Vinay P Singh
Madhuri Tiwari
Aarti Kumar
John P Spencer - University of Iowa, Psychological and Brain Sciences
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Nature human behaviour, Vol.7(12), pp.2199-2211
DOI: 10.1038/s41562-023-01725-3
PMID: 37884677
PMCID: PMC10730391
NLM abbreviation: Nat Hum Behav
ISSN: 2397-3374
eISSN: 2397-3374
Grant note: DOI: 10.13039/501100000275, name: Leverhulme Trust, award: RPG-2019-286; DOI: 10.13039/100000865, name: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, award: OPP1164153, OPP1164153, OPP1164153; DOI: 10.13039/100000009, name: Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, award: P50HD103556, R01HD083287
Language: English
Electronic publication date: 10/26/2023
Date published: 12/2023
Academic Unit: Roy J. Carver Department of Biomedical Engineering; Radiology; Psychiatry; Psychological and Brain Sciences; Iowa Neuroscience Institute
Record Identifier: 9984503060102771

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