Atlas-based Analysis of Association Between Cerebral White Matter Fiber Tracts and Arithmetic Ability

To investigate the association between cerebral white-matter fiber tracts and arithmetic ability, an experiment of cognitive function was designed to test arithmetic ability of all subjects. Then, T1 structural image and diffusion tensor imaging were collected. The average fractional anisotropy (FA) value of each fiber bundle was extracted by the white matter tractography atlas of Johns Hopkins University. The correlation between FA values of fiber tracts and behavior data was performed. Results show that the subtraction scores have a positive correlation with the FA values in the right cingulum (cingulate gyrus) and the right inferior longitudinal fasciculus. The FA values of the right superior longitudinal fasciculus (temporal part) are negatively correlated with the reaction times of arithmetic operations, respectively. These observed significant correlations are not just an effect of task difficulty. The increasing fiber coherence or myelination contribute to the improvement of arithmetic ability. This study further provides new evidences for the neural basis of sarithmetic operations.