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Lower Working Memory Performance in Overweight and Obese Adolescents Is Mediated by White Matter Microstructure

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 December 2015

Gabriela Alarcón ,
Siddharth Ray  and
Bonnie J. Nagel
Gabriela Alarcón
Affiliation:
Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon
Siddharth Ray
Affiliation:
Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon
Bonnie J. Nagel*
Affiliation:
Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon Department of Psychiatry, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to: Bonnie J. Nagel, Oregon Health & Science University, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Road, DC7P, Portland, OR 97239. E-mail: nagelb@ohsu.edu
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Abstract

Objectives: Elevated body mass index (BMI) is associated with deficits in working memory, reduced gray matter volume in frontal and parietal lobes, as well as changes in white matter (WM) microstructure. The current study examined whether BMI was related to working memory performance and blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) activity, as well as WM microstructure during adolescence. Methods: Linear regressions with BMI and (1) verbal working memory BOLD signal, (2) spatial working memory BOLD signal, and (3) fractional anisotropy (FA), a measure of WM microstructure, were conducted in a sample of 152 healthy adolescents ranging in BMI. Results: BMI was inversely related to IQ and verbal and spatial working memory accuracy; however, there was no significant relationship between BMI and BOLD response for either verbal or spatial working memory. Furthermore, BMI was negatively correlated with FA in the left superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) and left inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF). ILF FA and IQ significantly mediated the relationship between BMI and verbal working memory performance, whereas SLF FA, but not IQ, significantly mediated the relationship between BMI and accuracy of both verbal and spatial working memory. Conclusions: These findings indicate that higher BMI is associated with decreased FA in WM fibers connecting brain regions that support working memory, and that WM microstructural deficits may underlie inferior working memory performance in youth with higher BMI. Of interest, BMI did not show the same relationship with working memory BOLD activity, which may indicate that changes in brain structure precede changes in function. (JINS, 2015, 21, 281–292)

Keywords

Body mass indexDiffusion tensor imagingMagnetic resonance imagingMultimodal imagingExecutive functionAdolescent development
Type
Research Articles
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 22 , Issue 3 , March 2016 , pp. 281 - 292
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2015 

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