Population Differences in Brain Morphology and Microstructure among Chinese, Malay, and Indian Neonates

Abstract

We studied a sample of 75 Chinese, 73 Malay, and 29 Indian healthy neonates taking part in a cohort study to examine potential differences in neonatal brain morphology and white matter microstructure as a function of ethnicity using both structural T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). We first examined the differences in global size and morphology of the brain among the three groups. We then constructed the T2-weighted MRI and DTI atlases and employed voxel-based analysis to investigate ethnic differences in morphological shape of the brain from the T2-weighted MRI, and white matter microstructure measured by fractional anisotropy derived from DTI. Compared with Malay neonates, the brains of Indian neonates’ tended to be more elongated in anterior and posterior axis relative to the superior-inferior axis of the brain even though the total brain volume was similar among the three groups. Although most anatomical regions of the brain were similar among Chinese, Malay, and Indian neonates, there were anatomical variations in the spinal-cerebellar and cortical-striatal-thalamic neural circuits among the three populations. The population-related brain regions highlighted in our study are key anatomical substrates associated with sensorimotor functions.

Cortical Thickness of Native Tibetans in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

“…Brain morphologic differences between populations of different origins have been found in whole-brain and region-specific volume. 81 Future study should compare the interethnic difference of brain structures between Tibetans and Han populations at lowland. Fourth, Tibetans have been living on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and have developed a unique culture and language.…”

Developmental synchrony of thalamocortical circuits in the neonatal brain

“…For group comparison of the cortical thickness, we employed a large deformation diffeomorphic metric mapping (LDDMM) algorithm (Zhong & Qiu, 2010) to align individual cortical surfaces to the atlas that was generated based on the cortical anatomy of the same twenty subjects (Bai et al, 2012;Joshi et al, 2004) and transferred the thickness of each individual subject to the atlas.…”

“…The thalamus masks in the T2-weigted image were then superimposed to the DWI, FA, AD, and RD images through rigid transformation obtained between the image without diffusion weighting and T2-weighted image using FSL. The LDDMM algorithm was employed to align individual subjects' DTI to the GUSTO DTI atlas (see details of the GUSTO atlas in Bai et al, 2012).…”

Insights from the Growing Up in Singapore Towards Healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) Cohort Study

“…We described the growth patterns and sexual dimorphism of deep grey matter structures during the neonatal period and filled the gap for normative references of healthy brain development in early infancy. Asian ethnic differences in brain morphological shape and white matter microstructure, especially anatomical variations in the spinal-cerebellar and cortical-striatal-thalamic neural circuits associated with sensorimotor functions, were observed using MRI and diffusion tensor imaging in Chinese, Malay, and Indian neonates [9]. …”

“…Interethnic differences in health among the 3 major Singaporean ethnic groups, i.e. Chinese, Malays and Indians, involving the complex interplay of genetics, culture, and environment, can be investigated in Singapore [9,10,11]. We are examining the hypothesis that environmental signals alter the epigenetic state of specific regions of the genome that regulate metabolic and neural function, and that these epigenetic ‘marks' thus serve as a mechanism for enduring influences of perinatal development on health, as well as potential biomarkers that associate directly with states of vulnerability.…”