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Corpus callosum biometry and visual(perceptual) functions in children with unilateral cerebral palsy

Poster No:

2076 

Submission Type:

Abstract Submission 

Authors:

Monica Crotti1,2,3, Manuel Lubián-Gutiérrez4,5, Lisa Mailleux2,6, Lize Kleeren2,3,6, Lisa Decraene2,6,7, Els Ortibus1,2,8, Nofar Ben Itzhak1,2

Institutions:

1KU Leuven, Department of Development and Regeneration, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium, 2KU Leuven, Child and Youth Institute, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium, 3KU Leuven, Leuven Brain Institute, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium, 4Puerta del Mar University, Biomedical Research and Innovation Institute of Cádiz (INiBICA), Cádiz, Spain, 5Puerta del Mar University Hospital, Department of Paediatrics, Division of Neonatology, Cádiz, Spain, 6KU Leuven, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Research group for Neurorehabilitation, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium, 7Hasselt University, Rehabilitation Research Centre, B-3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium, 8University Hospitals Leuven, Cerebral Palsy Reference Center, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium

First Author:

Monica Crotti  
KU Leuven, Department of Development and Regeneration|KU Leuven, Child and Youth Institute|KU Leuven, Leuven Brain Institute
B-3000 Leuven, Belgium|B-3000 Leuven, Belgium|B-3000 Leuven, Belgium

Co-Author(s):

Manuel Lubián-Gutiérrez  
Puerta del Mar University, Biomedical Research and Innovation Institute of Cádiz (INiBICA)|Puerta del Mar University Hospital, Department of Paediatrics, Division of Neonatology
Cádiz, Spain|Cádiz, Spain
Lisa Mailleux  
KU Leuven, Child and Youth Institute|KU Leuven, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Research group for Neurorehabilitation
B-3000 Leuven, Belgium|B-3000 Leuven, Belgium
Lize Kleeren  
KU Leuven, Child and Youth Institute|KU Leuven, Leuven Brain Institute|KU Leuven, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Research group for Neurorehabilitation
B-3000 Leuven, Belgium|B-3000 Leuven, Belgium|B-3000 Leuven, Belgium
Lisa Decraene  
KU Leuven, Child and Youth Institute|KU Leuven, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Research group for Neurorehabilitation|Hasselt University, Rehabilitation Research Centre
B-3000 Leuven, Belgium|B-3000 Leuven, Belgium|B-3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium
Els Ortibus  
KU Leuven, Department of Development and Regeneration|KU Leuven, Child and Youth Institute|University Hospitals Leuven, Cerebral Palsy Reference Center
B-3000 Leuven, Belgium|B-3000 Leuven, Belgium|B-3000 Leuven, Belgium
Nofar Ben Itzhak  
KU Leuven, Department of Development and Regeneration|KU Leuven, Child and Youth Institute
B-3000 Leuven, Belgium|B-3000 Leuven, Belgium

Introduction:

Besides motor problems, up to 60% of children with cerebral palsy (CP) present with visual (perceptual) impairments (Odding et al., 2006). The visual cortex is connected to the splenium, the posterior section of the corpus callosum (CC) (Wakana et al., 2004). Several studies showed that reduced CC length is related to worse visual (perceptual) functions in children born preterm and with developmental disorders (Eken et al., 1995; Kwinta et al., 2015). While previous findings (Mailleux et al., 2020; Weinstein et al., 2014) showed that children with unilateral CP (uCP) present with damage to the CC, little is known about the relation between CC biometry and visual outcomes in children with uCP. Hence, we investigate the relation between visual (perceptual) functions and CC biometry in children with uCP.

Methods:

Visual (perceptual) functions were assessed in 38 children with uCP (age=11y17m±2y10m, 20 males) with the Freiburg Vision Test (FrACT) for visual acuity, the Titmus Stereo Fly circles subtest (Titmus) for stereoacuity, the Test of Visual Perceptual Skills (TVPS-4) and the Beery-Buktenica Developmental test of Visual-Motor Integration (Beery-VMI) for visual perceptual and visuomotor functions, respectively. T1-weighted images were acquired (TE/TR/TI 4.2/9.1/760.3 ms, voxel size 0.9×0.9×0.9 mm³) using a 3.0-T scanner (Hercules, Philips Medical Systems). CC biometry (CC total length, splenium thickness; Figure 1) was measured manually according to Garel et al. (2011), using the midline sagittal T1 scan. Lesion aetiology was classified according to the MRI classification system (Himmelmann et al., 2021). To investigate the relation between visual (perceptual) outcomes and CC biometry, partial Spearman's rank correlations were computed with age and gestational age (GA) as covariates and corrected for multiple testing with a false discovery rate (FDR≤.05). Backward multiple regression models (F≥100), including GA, birth weight, age, and lesion aetiology were used to study if CC biometry significantly predicted the outcome of the visual (perceptual) function assessments. Statistics were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics (Version 28.0.1).
Supporting Image: Figure1.png
 

Results:

Reduction of the CC total length showed the strongest correlations to worse visual (perceptual) outcomes (Table 1). Both reduced length of the total CC (rs=.62-.55, p<.01) and splenium thickness (rs=.38-.43, p<.05) were correlated with worse visual acuity, stereoacuity, and lower scores of the TVPS-4 subtest form constancy. In the linear regression models, the CC total length explained 47% of the variance in visual acuity (β=.033, p=.030, AdjR2=.465, F(6,31)=6.350, p<.001); 39% of the variance in stereoacuity (β=.273, p=.024, AdjR2=.389, F(6,31)=4.919, p=.001); 38% of the variance in the TVPS-4 visual discrimination (β=.173, p<.001, AdjR2=.380, F(6,31)=4.785, p=.001); 22% of the variance in the TVPS-4 spatial relationships (β=.098, p=.032, AdjR2=.220, F(6,31)=2.735, p=.030) for which lesion aetiology was also a significant predictor (β=.545, p=.037); 40% of the variance in the TVPS-4 form constancy (β=.107, p=.005, AdjR2=0.397, F(6,31)=5.068, p=.001); 50% of the variance in the Beery-VMI visual perception (β=.094, p=.010, AdjR2=.504, F(6,31)=7.269, p<.001) for which lesion aetiology (β=.523, p=.012) and age (β=-.178, p<.001) were also significant predictors; and 35% of the variance in the Beery-VMI motor coordination (β=.086, p=.026, AdjR2=.350, F(6,31)=4.313, p=.003) for which age was also a significant predictor (β=-.137, p=.010).
Supporting Image: Table1.png
 

Conclusions:

In children with uCP, both reduced CC total length and splenium thickness are related to worse visual (perceptual) functions. Our results suggest that CC biometry could serve as a potential biomarker for visual outcomes, indicating that children with uCP with a shorter total CC and splenium thickness should be followed up with visual testing. This could be also applied to young infants with uCP, in whom visual assessment might be challenging.

Lifespan Development:

Normal Brain Development: Fetus to Adolescence

Modeling and Analysis Methods:

Segmentation and Parcellation

Motor Behavior:

Visuo-Motor Functions 1

Novel Imaging Acquisition Methods:

Anatomical MRI 2

Perception, Attention and Motor Behavior:

Perception: Visual

Keywords:

Development
Movement Disorder
STRUCTURAL MRI
Vision
Other - Corpus callosum

1|2Indicates the priority used for review

Provide references using author date format

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Garel, C., Cont, I., Alberti, C., Josserand, E., Moutard, M. L., & Ducou Le Pointe, H. (2011). Biometry of the corpus callosum in children: MR imaging reference data. American Journal of Neuroradiology, 32(8), 1436–1443. https://doi.org/10.3174/ajnr.A2542
Himmelmann, K., Horber, V., Sellier, E., De la Cruz, J., Papavasiliou, A., & Krägeloh-Mann, I. (2021). Neuroimaging Patterns and Function in Cerebral Palsy—Application of an MRI Classification. Frontiers in Neurology, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/FNEUR.2020.617740
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