Corpus Callosum and Motor Development in Healthy Term Infants

• Published in: Pediatric neurology Vol. 52; no. 2; pp. 192 - 197
• Main Authors: Chang, Chaw-Liang, MD, Hung, Kun-Long, MD, Yang, Yi-Chen, MS, Ho, Che-Sheng, MD, Chiu, Nan-Chang, MD
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.02.2015
• Subjects: Age Factors; cerebral ultrasound; Child Development - physiology; corpus callosum; Corpus Callosum - diagnostic imaging; Female; Gestational Age; Humans; Infant; Male; Motor Activity - physiology; motor development; Neurology; Odds Ratio; Pediatrics; Retrospective Studies; rolling over; Sex Factors; Ultrasonography; motor development; cerebral ultrasound; corpus callosum; infant; rolling over
• ISSN: 0887-8994; 1873-5150
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2014.10.012

Abstract Background Corpus callosum atrophy has been associated with cognitive and motor deficits in elderly people. However, the role of the corpus callosum in infant development is unclear. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of corpus callosum size on motor development in infants. Methods We investigated cerebral ultrasonograms performed on healthy infants aged 4 to 6 months. The correlation between the development of rolling over and corpus callosum size was calculated for determining odds ratios. Covariates, including gestational age, sex, age in months, and head circumference were tested using logistic regression. Results We investigated 244 cerebral ultrasonograms performed on term infants from 2009 to 2011. The percentage of rolling over development in the examined infants increased with age (47.8%, 78.4%, and 97.5% at ages 4, 5, and 6 months, respectively). There was no significant difference in the development of rolling over between male (67.9%) and female (73.6%) children or among different gestational age groups. After the other covariates in the logistic model were adjusted, only age and corpus callosum size (length and thickness) were significantly associated with the development of rolling over: 3.86 times the odds (confidence interval, 2.1 to 7.0) for age in months, 1.14 times the odds (confidence interval, 1.0 to 1.3) for corpus callosum length, and 3.92 times the odds (confidence interval, 1.6 to 9.6) for corpus callosum thickness. Conclusions Corpus callosum size is positively associated with the development of rolling over in healthy term infants, independent of the gestational age, sex, age, and head circumference.