Age, sex, and puberty related development of the corpus callosum: a multi-technique diffusion MRI study

Abstract

Purpose: The corpus callosum is integral to the central nervous system, and continually develops with age by virtue of increasing axon diameter and ongoing myelination. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques offer a means to disentangle these two aspects of white matter development. We investigate the profile of microstructural metrics across the corpus callosum, and assess the impact of age, sex and pubertal development on these processes. Methods:This study made use of two independent paediatric populations. Multi-shell diffusion MRI data were analysed to produce a suite of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), neurite orientation density and dispersion imaging (NODDI), and apparent fibre density (AFD) metrics. A multivariate profile analysis was performed for each diffusion metric across 10 subdivisions of the corpus callosum.Results: All diffusion metrics significantly varied across the length of the corpus callosum. AFD exhibited a strong relationship with age across the corpus callosum (partial η 2 = .65), particularly in the posterior body of the corpus callosum (partial η 2 = .72). In addition, females had significantly higher AFD compared with males, most markedly in the anterior splenium (partial η 2 = .14) and posterior genu (partial η 2 = .13). Age-matched pubertal group differences were localised to the splenium. Conclusion:We present evidence of a strong relationship between apparent fibre density and age, sex, and puberty during development. These results are consistent with ex vivo studies of fibre morphology, providing insights into the dynamics of axonal development in childhood and adolescence using diffusion MRI.

White matter organization in developmental coordination disorder: A pilot study exploring the added value of constrained spherical deconvolution

“…Indeed, we observed that mean AFD of the left SLF was significantly reduced in those with DCD, with along tract analysis suggesting that this group difference was accentuated in those portions of the SLF immediately anterior to the arcuate fasciculus. AFD provides a metric of intra-axonal volume fraction ( Raffelt et al, 2012a , Raffelt et al, 2012b ), with higher values potentially reflecting increased axon diameter or local axon count ( Genc et al, 2018 ). Accordingly, our data suggest that individuals with DCD may have decreased axon diameter or count in the left SLF relative to controls.…”

Development of white matter microstructure and executive functions during childhood and adolescence: a review of diffusion MRI studies

“…CSF). NODDI-derived measures have appear to be more closely associated with age in youth than standard DTI metrics ( Chang et al, 2015 ; Deligianni et al, 2016 ; Eaton-Rosen et al, 2015 ; Genc et al, 2018 ; Kodiweera & Wu, 2016 ; Mah et al, 2017 ; Nazeri et al, 2015 ; Ota et al, 2017 ). “Signal” based methods use quantitative, efficient and robust mathematical models to describe molecular displacements in brain white matter.…”

Prenatal antidepressant exposure and sex differences in neonatal corpus callosum microstructure

“…Sex differences in relative size, connectivity, and function have been well characterized in several brain regions (Kaczkurkin et al., 2019); one such region is the corpus callosum (CC), developing in a sex‐specific manner across the lifespan (Genc et al., 2018; Lebel et al., 2012; F. Liu et al., 2010; Luders et al., 2011; Schmithorst et al., 2008). The CC is the largest white matter (WM) structure in the human brain, composed of highly organized commissural projection neurons that facilitate interhemispheric communication, mediating high‐level association and lateralized functional processes (Fame et al., 2011; van der Knaap & van der Ham, 2011).…”