Developmental neuroimaging of children using magnetic resonance techniques

Abstract

Cognitive and motor development in children remain fascinating processes that are uniquely human. Progress has been made in recent years in elucidating the prenatal process of human brain development. In addition, much information exists regarding the behavioral aspects of postnatal human development. However, little is known about the relationship between anatomic postnatal central nervous system development and the accretion of functional milestones observed in children from the neonatal period through adolescence. Recently, powerful qualitative and quantitative magnetic resonance techniques have been developed that will permit detailed inquiry into the connection between the developing brain and the developing mind. In this review, first, the steps of prenatal and postnatal brain development are reviewed briefly. Subsequently, recent magnetic resonance imaging data related to human brain development during the fetal, neonatal, and later childhood periods are presented. Finally, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is discussed. Specific examples of its usefulness are provided. Magnetic resonance imaging techniques such as quantitative MRI, volumetric MRI, diffusion tensor imaging, and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) when combined with neurologic and neuropsychologic evaluation, will provide new insights into the cognitive development of children. MRDD Research Reviews 6:68–80, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Prolonged T values in newborn versus adult brain: Implications for fMRI studies of newborns

“…The organizational stages of myelination, synaptogenesis, and synaptic pruning unfold gradually throughout the first decade of life (1). The timing of these postnatal events varies from region to region in the developing brain.…”

Cognitive functions correlate with white matter architecture in a normal pediatric population: A diffusion tensor MRI study

“…Since all of the subjects were specifically recruited for the investigation of normal brain development and their neurological, psychological, and structural measures were all within the normal range, we consider our data representative of a healthy population and are able to avoid any potential problem of transferability of results (Rivkin 2000), within the limitations of our sample being skewed toward the higher end of the IQ range and containing significantly more girls than boys.…”

Variability of gray and white matter during normal development: a voxel-based MRI analysis

“…Since the human brain undergoes profound developmental changes on the global as well as the regional level [7,8,9,10,11], ensuring the use of an appropriate (and appropriately sized) control group seems all the more relevant. In this study, we were able to investigate a large population of truly normal children after applying rigorous exclusion criteria, allowing to consider this reference data representative for the population as a whole [21].…”