Journal article
Subcortical brain iron and its link to verbal memory in children with developmental language disorder
Brain and language, Vol.261, 105531
02/2025
DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2024.105531
PMCID: PMC11769726
PMID: 39756358
Abstract
Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) is a common neurodevelopmental condition characterized by significant difficulty with language learning, comprehension, and expression. The neurocognitive bases of DLD are underspecified but are thought to be related, in part, to altered basal ganglia (BG). The BG are known to have a high level of brain iron, which contributes to myelination and dopaminergic pathways among other physiological mechanisms. In this study, we investigated whether a brain iron imbalance might contribute to the altered BG function that characterizes individuals with DLD. Using a T2*-weighted signal, we compared BG brain iron levels in 7-to-13-year olds with DLD and typical language development (TD). We found a significant age-by-group interaction in the caudate with children with DLD showing a positive association between brain iron and age, which was not the case in TD children. A sex-by-age-by-group interaction was also reported in the right putamen and right nucleus accumbens. Higher brain iron in the caudate was associated with poorer story recall; there was no relation between brain iron levels and recall of word lists. This first-ever investigation of brain iron levels in individuals with DLD provides preliminary evidence of an abnormal developmental trajectory of brain iron balance and offers a potential explanation for the altered BG function and verbal impairments that characterize DLD.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Subcortical brain iron and its link to verbal memory in children with developmental language disorder
- Creators
- Gaelle E Doucet - Boys TownJordanna A Kruse - Boys TownAttakias Mertens - Boys TownCallum Goldsmith - Boys TownNichole M Eden - Boys Town National Research HospitalJacob Oleson - University of IowaKarla K McGregor - Boys Town National Research Hospital
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Brain and language, Vol.261, 105531
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.bandl.2024.105531
- PMID
- 39756358
- PMCID
- PMC11769726
- NLM abbreviation
- Brain Lang
- ISSN
- 0093-934X
- eISSN
- 1090-2155
- Publisher
- ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE
- Grant note
- National Institutes of Health: R03MH129365, P20GM144641
This project was partly funded by National Institutes of Health (R03MH129365, P20GM144641) .
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 02/2025
- Academic Unit
- Communication Sciences and Disorders; Biostatistics; Otolaryngology
- Record Identifier
- 9984772277302771
Metrics
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