Meeting Banner
Abstract #2951

Quantitative Assessments of Growth Trajectories of Cortical Thickness During the First 18 Mons of Life

Weili Lin1, Li Wang1, Gang Li1, Feng Shi1, Jingxin Nie1, Dinggang Shen1

1Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States

Healthy pediatric subjects were recruited for a longitudinal study. Each subject was scanned every three mons starting from birth to 1 yr-old and again at 18mons old. A novel approach taking advantage information available from the longitudinal design was employed for CTH measures. The CTH of the temporal and frontal lobes outgrow the parietal and occipital lobes and reach ~ 4mm at 18mons. The primary language and auditory areas exhibit the largest CTH increase CTH < 6mons of life when compared to motor/sensory/visual cortices. Interestingly, the visual cortex exhibits a relatively stable CTH throughout the first 18mons of life.

Abstract PDF Presentation Video

Keywords

addition aimed allowing another artifacts auditory available bias biomedical birth brain central channel chapel characterizing children closest coil completed consistent context continuing correction cortex cortical cortices critical days defined deforming density determine development differ done early emerge every exhibit exhibited exhibits features finally five frontal functional functions gray growth guided head healthy hill human implicated individual infancy infants inner insert insights interestingly jointly language largely largest life lobar lobe lobes longitudinal mapping marked measures motion motor natural neonates neuronal north novel occipital occurs outer outgrow parallel parietal particular particularly patterns period pipeline pole post prenatally primary process quantitative rage ranging rapid rather reach reconstructed reconstruction recruited reflective related relatively remains reported respectively scanned segmentation sensory sets several severe shorten skull sleep slow slower spatial stable starting subject subjects suggest suggesting superior surface surfaces synaptic take temporal thickest thicknesses thinning throughout tissue toward trajectories trio undergo underlying variation visual volumetric white year