Large-scale functional network dynamics in human callosal agenesis: Increased subcortical involvement and preserved laterality
Vanessa Siffredi,
Younes Farouj,
Anjali Tarun,
Vicki Anderson,
Amanda G. Wood,
Alissandra McIlroy,
Richard J. Leventer,
Megan M. Spencer-Smith,
Dimitri Van De Ville
Affiliations
Vanessa Siffredi
Corresponding author.; Institute of Bioengineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland; Department of Radiology and Medical Informatics, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Brain and Mind Research, Clinical Sciences, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia; Division of Development and Growth, Department of Woman, Child and Adolescent, University Hospitals of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
Younes Farouj
Institute of Bioengineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland; Department of Radiology and Medical Informatics, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
Anjali Tarun
Institute of Bioengineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland; Department of Radiology and Medical Informatics, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
Vicki Anderson
Brain and Mind Research, Clinical Sciences, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia; Neuroscience Research, Clinical Sciences, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia; School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Psychology, Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, Australia
Amanda G. Wood
Brain and Mind Research, Clinical Sciences, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia; School of Life and Health Sciences & Aston Neuroscience Institute, Aston University, Birmingham, B4 7ET UK; School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Melbourne Burwood Campus, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
Alissandra McIlroy
Brain and Mind Research, Clinical Sciences, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia
Richard J. Leventer
Neuroscience Research, Clinical Sciences, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Neurology, Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, Australia
Megan M. Spencer-Smith
Brain and Mind Research, Clinical Sciences, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia; Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
Dimitri Van De Ville
Institute of Bioengineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland; Department of Radiology and Medical Informatics, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
In the human brain, the corpus callosum is the major white-matter commissural tract enabling the transmission of sensory-motor, and higher level cognitive information between homotopic regions of the two cerebral hemispheres. Despite developmental absence (i.e., agenesis) of the corpus callosum (AgCC), functional connectivity is preserved, including interhemispheric connectivity. Subcortical structures have been hypothesised to provide alternative pathways to enable this preservation. To test this hypothesis, we used functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) recordings in children with AgCC and typically developing children, and a time-resolved approach to retrieve temporal characteristics of whole-brain functional networks. We observed an increased engagement of the cerebellum and amygdala/hippocampus networks in children with AgCC compared to typically developing children. There was little evidence that laterality of activation networks was affected in AgCC. Our findings support the hypothesis that subcortical structures play an essential role in the functional reconfiguration of the brain in the absence of a corpus callosum.
