Subcortical brain structure in children with developmental coordination disorder: A T1-weighted volumetric study

Abstract

Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder occurring in 5-6% of school-aged children. Converging evidence suggests that dysfunction within cortico-striatal and cortico-cerebellar networks may contribute to motor deficits in DCD, yet limited research has examined the brain morphology of these regions. Using T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging the current study investigated cortical and subcortical volumes in 37 children with DCD, aged 8 to 12 years, and 48 controls of a similar age. Regional brain volumes of the thalamus, basal ganglia, cerebellum and primary motor and sensory cortices were extracted using the FreeSurfer recon-all pipeline and compared between groups. Reduced volumes within both the left and right pallidum (Left: F = 4.43, p = 0.039; Right: F = 5.24, p = 0.025) were observed in children with DCD; however, these results did not withstand correction for multiple comparisons. These findings provide preliminary evidence of altered subcortical brain structure in DCD. Future studies that examine the morphology of these subcortical regions are highly encouraged in order replicate these findings.

Keywords: Developmental coordination disorder; Neurodevelopment; Neuroimaging; Structural; Subcortical.

Fig. 1

Group comparisons for subcortical volumes. Volumes for the DCD (blue bars) and control (black bars) groups are shown as residuals, regressing out total brain volume and scanner effects. Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals. Brain image shows significant regions of interest. *Indicates significant results, uncorrected for multiple comparison corrections (p < 0.05)

Fig. 2

Group comparisons for cortical and cerebellar volumes. Volumes for the DCD (blue bar) and control (black bar) groups are shown as residuals, regressing out total brain volume and scanner effects. Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals. *Indicates significant results, uncorrected for multiple comparison corrections (p < 0.05)