Stunting in infancy is associated with atypical activation of working memory and attention networks

Wijeakumar, Sobanawartiny; Forbes, Samuel H.; Magnotta, Vincent A.; Deoni, Sean; Jackson, Kiara; Singh, Vinay P.; Tiwari, Madhuri; Kumar, Aarti; Spencer, John P.

Abstract

AbstractStunting is associated with poor long-term cognitive, academic and economic outcomes, yet the mechanisms through which stunting impacts cognition in early development remain unknown. In a first-ever neuroimaging study conducted on infants from rural India, we demonstrate that stunting impacts a critical, early-developing cognitive system—visual working memory. Stunted infants showed poor visual working memory performance and were easily distractible. Poor performance was associated with reduced engagement of the left anterior intraparietal sulcus, a region involved in visual working memory maintenance and greater suppression in the right temporoparietal junction, a region involved in attentional shifting. When assessed one year later, stunted infants had lower problem-solving scores, while infants of normal height with greater left anterior intraparietal sulcus activation showed higher problem-solving scores. Finally, short-for-age infants with poor physical growth indices but good visual working memory performance showed more positive outcomes suggesting that intervention efforts should focus on improving working memory and reducing distractibility in infancy.

Citation

Wijeakumar, S., Forbes, S. H., Magnotta, V. A., Deoni, S., Jackson, K., Singh, V. P., …Spencer, J. P. (2023). Stunting in infancy is associated with atypical activation of working memory and attention networks. Nature Human Behaviour, 7(12), 2199–2211. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-023-01725-3

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 13, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Oct 26, 2023
• Publication Date: Oct 26, 2023
• Deposit Date: Sep 12, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 31, 2023
• Journal: Nature Human Behaviour
• Electronic ISSN: 2397-3374
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 7
• Issue: 12
• Pages: 2199–2211
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-023-01725-3
• Keywords: Behavioral Neuroscience, Experimental and Cognitive Psychology, Social Psychology
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/25273264
• Additional Information: Received: 24 June 2022; Accepted: 13 September 2023; First Online: 26 October 2023; : S.D. declares the following: Wyeth Nutrition (speaker honorarium); Nestle Nutrition (consultant and research funding); and Mead Johnson Nutrition (speaker honorarium). The remaining authors declare no competing interests.