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A longitudinal investigation of a potential experience-dependent bidirectional relationship between white matter & executive function

Poster Session F - Tuesday, March 10, 2026, 8:00 – 10:00 am PDT, Fairview/Kitsilano Ballroom

Emily Harriott¹ (), Tin Nguyen¹, Laura Barquero¹, Laurie Cutting¹; ¹Vanderbilt University

Brain structure and cognitive functioning are inherently related, but nuances remain unclear. Some findings suggest that white matter (WM) drives cognitive change, while others suggest the reverse. The present longitudinal analyses attempted to disentangle directionality and timing of this relationship with regard to executive functioning (EF) and the right cingulum cingulate (CGC), a tract previously associated with EF. Across two longitudinal samples (N=93 at ages 5.5 and 6.5 years; N=134 at ages 7.5, 8.5, and 9.5 years), EF was measured using the parent-report Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF). Diffusion MR images were preprocessed, tracts were reconstructed, and DTI metrics (particularly FA, a proxy for fiber coherence, and RD, a proxy for myelination) were extracted using QSIprep and mrtrix3 (tractography) and pyAFQ (tractometry). Cross-lagged panel models controlling for age were then run to examine bidirectional relationships between right CGC and EF. Findings from cross-lagged panel models investigating fiber coherence (FA) suggested that FA of the right CGC at age 7.5 was related to EF at age 8.5 years, and FA of the right CGC at age 8.5 was related to EF at age 9.5 years. Additional models suggested that these relationships were largely driven by an index of myelination (RD). This particular set of findings suggests that WM drives cognitive change, but not vice versa.

Topic Area: EXECUTIVE PROCESSES: Development &aging