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Age-Dependent White Matter Characteristics of the Cerebellar Peduncles from Infancy Through Adolescence

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Abstract

Cerebellum-cerebrum connections are essential for many motor and cognitive functions and cerebellar disorders are prevalent in childhood. The middle (MCP), inferior (ICP), and superior cerebellar peduncles (SCP) are the major white matter pathways that permit communication between the cerebellum and the cerebrum. Knowledge about the microstructural properties of these cerebellar peduncles across childhood is limited. Here, we report on a diffusion magnetic resonance imaging tractography study to describe age-dependent characteristics of the cerebellar peduncles in a cross-sectional sample of infants, children, and adolescents from newborn to 17 years of age (N = 113). Scans were collected as part of clinical care; participants were restricted to those whose scans showed no abnormal findings and whose history and exam had no risk factors for cerebellar abnormalities. A novel automated tractography protocol was applied. Results showed that mean tract-FA increased, while mean tract-MD decreased from infancy to adolescence in all peduncles. Rapid changes were observed in both diffusion measures in the first 24 months of life, followed by gradual change at older ages. The shape of the tract profiles was similar across ages for all peduncles. These data are the first to characterize the variability of diffusion properties both across and within cerebellar white matter pathways that occur from birth through later adolescence. The data represent a rich normative data set against which white matter alterations seen in children with posterior fossa conditions can be compared. Ultimately, the data will facilitate the identification of sensitive biomarkers of cerebellar abnormalities.

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Funding

This study was funded by the following grants: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health (RO1 HD069162 to Feldman, PI and 5K99HD084749 to Travis, PI) and the Stanford Transdisciplinary Initiatives Program, Child Health Research Institute (1186741-100-DHDHY).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA

    Lisa Bruckert, Lauren R. Borchers, Katherine E. Travis & Heidi M. Feldman

  2. Department of Radiology, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA

    Katie Shpanskaya, Emily S. McKenna & Kristen W. Yeom

  3. The Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar Ilan University, 5290002, Ramat Gan, Israel

    Maya Yablonski, Tal Blecher & Michal Ben-Shachar

  4. Department of English Literature and Linguistics, Bar Ilan University, 5290002, Ramat Gan, Israel

    Michal Ben-Shachar

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  1. Lisa Bruckert
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Correspondence to Heidi M. Feldman.

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Bruckert, L., Shpanskaya, K., McKenna, E.S. et al. Age-Dependent White Matter Characteristics of the Cerebellar Peduncles from Infancy Through Adolescence. Cerebellum 18, 372–387 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12311-018-1003-9

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