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Abstract #0906

Long Range White Matter Connectivity Deficit in Pediatric Cerebral Palsy

Zoe A. Englander1, Anastasiya Batrachenko1, Carolyn E. Pizoli, 12, Christopher M. Petty1, Jessica Sun2, 3, Mohamad A. Mikati2, Joanne Kurtzberg4, 5, Allen W. Song1

1Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States; 2Department of Pediatrics, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States; 3The Robertson Cell and Translational Therapy Center, Duke University, Durham , NC, United States; 4The Robertson Cell and Translational Therapy Center, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States; 5Department of Pediatrics, Duke University, Durham , NC, United States


We performed a whole brain white matter connectivity analysis in 18 pediatric patients with bilateral Cerebral Palsy (CP) in order to examine patterns of global white matter deficit. The relationship between white matter connectivity deficit and clinical disease severity was assessed. It was found that long range connectivities were increasingly impaired with increasing CP severity. Of individuals who qualified for cognitive assessment, those with lower cognitive scores showed more severe decreases in long range connectivity than did individuals with higher cognitive scores, suggesting a possible mechanism for the developmental delay and cognitive deficits that accompany sensorimotor dysfunctions in CP.