Connecting the dots: social networks in the classroom and white matter connections in the brain.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Peer connections in school classrooms play an important role in social-emotional development and mental health. However, research on the association between children's peer relationships and white matter connections in the brain is scarce. We studied associations between peer relationships in the classroom and white matter structural connectivity in a pediatric population-based sample.

Methods

Bullying and victimization, as well as rejection and acceptance, were assessed in classrooms in 634 children at age 7. White matter microstructure (fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD)) was measured with diffusion tensor imaging at age 10. We examined global metrics of white matter microstructure and used Tract-Based Spatial Statistics (TBSS) for voxel-wise asso

SUBMITTER: Mulder RH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9796140 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature