Abstract
Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is an important way to characterize white matter (WM) microstructural changes. While several cross-sectional DTI studies investigated possible links between mindfulness practices and WM, only few longitudinal investigations focused on the effects of these practices on WM architecture, behavioral change, and the relationship between them. To this aim, in the current study, we chose to conduct an unbiased tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) analysis (n = 35 healthy participants) to identify longitudinal changes in WM diffusion parameters following 6 and 12 weeks of daily Quadrato Motor Training (QMT), a whole-body mindful movement practice aimed at improving well-being by enhancing attention, coordination, and creativity. We also investigated the possible relationship between training-induced WM changes and concomitant changes in creativity, self-efficacy, and motivation. Our results indicate that following 6 weeks of daily QMT, there was a bilateral increase of fractional anisotropy (FA) in tracts related to sensorimotor and cognitive functions, including the corticospinal tracts, anterior thalamic radiations, and uncinate fasciculi, as well as in the left inferior fronto-occipital, superior and inferior longitudinal fasciculi. Interestingly, significant FA increments were still present after 12 weeks of QMT in most of the above WM tracts, but only in the left hemisphere. FA increase was accompanied by a significant decrease of radial diffusivity (RD), supporting the leading role of myelination processes in training-related FA changes. Finally, significant correlations were found between training-induced diffusion changes and increased self-efficacy as well as creativity. Together, these findings suggest that QMT can improve WM integrity and support the existence of possible relationships between training-related WM microstructural changes and behavioral change.
Highlights
In the last two decades, white matter (WM) microstructural changes of the human brain have been widely described in vivo using the diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) magnetic resonance technique (Basser et al, 1994; Pierpaoli et al, 1996)
Several DTI studies which have aimed at characterizing the mechanisms of fractional anisotropy (FA) change and at determining if these changes are the result of axon morphological modification or myelination, have examined other diffusion parameters, such as axial and radial diffusivity (AD, RD), in the location where FA significantly changes, respectively (Wheeler-Kingshott and Cercignani, 2009; Bennett et al, 2010; Tang et al, 2012)
Similar to the originality results, we found that higher General Self-Efficacy (GSE) scores were associated with increased FA/decreased RD in the anterior thalamic radiations and left superior longitudinal fasciculus
Summary
In the last two decades, white matter (WM) microstructural changes of the human brain have been widely described in vivo using the diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) magnetic resonance technique (Basser et al, 1994; Pierpaoli et al, 1996). Higher FA values are thought to reflect better WM integrity as a result of greater intravoxel coherence of fiber orientation, axon density and diameter and/or myelination (Beaulieu et al, 1996; Sen and Basser, 2005; Caminiti et al, 2013). Several DTI studies which have aimed at characterizing the mechanisms of FA change and at determining if these changes are the result of axon morphological modification or myelination, have examined other diffusion parameters, such as axial and radial diffusivity (AD, RD), in the location where FA significantly changes, respectively (Wheeler-Kingshott and Cercignani, 2009; Bennett et al, 2010; Tang et al, 2012). RD has been generally associated with myelination (Song et al, 2002, 2005), where RD decrease has been thought to reflect increased myelination (Keller and Just, 2009; Bennett et al, 2010)
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