How we get a grip: Microstructural neural correlates of manual grip strength in children

Year: 2023

Type: article

Abstract: Maximal grip strength is associated with a variety of health-related outcome measures and thus may be reflective of the efficiency of foundational brain-body communication. Non-human primate models of grip strength strongly implicate the cortical lateral grasping network, but little is known about the translatability of these models to human children. Further, it is unclear how supplementary networks that provide proprioceptive information and cerebellar-based motor command modification are associated with maximal grip strength. Therefore, this study employed high resolution, multi-shell diffusion and quantitative T1 imaging to examine how variations in lateral grasping, proprioception input, and cortico-cerebellar modification network white matter microstructure are associated with variations in grip strength across 70 children. Results indicated that stronger grip strength was associated with higher lateral grasping and proprioception input network fractional anisotropy and R1, indirect measures consistent with stronger microstructural coherence and increased myelination. No relationships were found in the cerebellar modification network. These results provide a neurobiological mechanism of grip behavior in children which suggests that increased myelination of cortical sensory and motor pathways is associated with stronger grip. This neurobiological mechanism may be a signature of pediatric neuro-motor behavior more broadly as evidenced by the previously demonstrated relationships between grip strength and behavioral outcome measures across a variety of clinical and non-clinical populations.

Source: NeuroImage

DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120117

Authors: Olivia Surgent, Jose Guerrero-Gonzalez, Douglas C. Dean, Gregory R. Kirk, Nagesh Adluru, Steven R. Kecskemeti, Andrew L. Alexander, Brittany G. Travers

Institution: University of Wisconsin–Madison

Language: English

Topic: Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications

Subfield: Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,450

Funders: Hartwell Foundation, Waisman Center, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Mental Health, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

OpenAlex ID: W4366084005