Importance of Thalamostriatal Pathway Associated With Neurocognitive Dysfunctions in Children With Neurofibromatosis Type 1: Diffusion Tensor Imaging Findings

Objective To determine whether there is a difference between healthy control group and children with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) in terms of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and fractional anisotropy (FA) values in different regions of the brain associated with neurocognitive functions and to investigate the correlation between diffusion tensor imaging parameters and neurocognitive dysfunctions. Methods The study included 28 children with NF1 and 21 controls. Nine distinct areas related to cognitive functions were selected for the analysis. The ADC and FA values were compared. Results There was a significant difference between NF1 and healthy control in terms of ADC values obtained from all areas. The ADC values at obtained from thalamus and striatum were positively correlated with the full-scale intelligence quotient (IQ), verbal IQ, and performance IQ. Conclusions We are speculated that the development of microstructural damage in the thalamostriatal pathway may lead to neurocognitive dysfunction.