Spatial–temporal atlas of human fetal brain development during the early second trimester

Abstract

During the second trimester, the human fetal brain undergoes numerous changes that lead to substantial variation in the neonatal in terms of its morphology and tissue types. As fetal MRI is more and more widely used for studying the human brain development during this period, a spatiotemporal atlas becomes necessary for characterizing the dynamic structural changes. In this study, 34 postmortem human fetal brains with gestational ages ranging from 15 to 22 weeks were scanned using 7.0 T MR. We used automated morphometrics, tensor-based morphometry and surface modeling techniques to analyze the data. Spatiotemporal atlases of each week and the overall atlas covering the whole period with high resolution and contrast were created. These atlases were used for the analysis of age-specific shape changes during this period, including development of the cerebral wall, lateral ventricles, Sylvian fissure, and growth direction based on local surface measurements. Our findings indicate that growth of the subplate zone is especially striking and is the main cause for the lamination pattern changes. Changes in the cortex around Sylvian fissure demonstrate that cortical growth may be one of the mechanisms for gyration. Surface deformation mapping, revealed by local shape analysis, indicates that there is global anterior–posterior growth pattern, with frontal and temporal lobes developing relatively quickly during this period. Our results are valuable for understanding the normal brain development trajectories and anatomical characteristics. These week-by-week fetal brain atlases can be used as reference in in vivo studies, and may facilitate the quantification of fetal brain development across space and time.

Biomechanical Analysis of Normal Brain Development during the First Year of Life Using Finite Strain Theory

“…Fetal brains showed a higher volumetric growth in the frontal and temporal lobes with a major anterior-to-posterior directional stretch during 15–22 gestational weeks32. Greater volume increases in the parietal and occipital regions compared to the frontal lobes33 were observed during 20–28 gestational weeks.…”

“…1). Interestingly, while the fetal brain showed volumetric contraction in the lateral ventricle in the second trimester, possibly due to increase in the thickness of the cortical mantle relative to the ventricles32, the infant brain shows the most active ventricular growth during the first year of life13.…”

Development of the human fetal hippocampal formation during early second trimester

“…41 human fetuses (13 males and 28 females) with a gestational age (GA) of 14 to 22 weeks, which were partially used to study brain development characteristics at the 20th gestational week (GW), subcortical brain structures, cortical folding, and the fetal brain template in previous publications (Zhang et al, 2010, 2011; Meng et al, 2012; Zhan et al, 2013), were included in the study. All fetuses were collected in hospitals of Shandong Province, China.…”

Insights on the functional interactions between miRNAs and copy number variations in the aging brain

“…The establishment of human cognitive abilities is a gradual process that takes place mostly in the period between birth and adulthood, although some developmental processes extend beyond this period (Sowell et al, 2004; Thompson et al, 2004; Zhan et al, 2013). During this time window, the brain undergoes dramatic molecular transformations, which are manifested both structurally and functionally (de Graaf-Peters and Hadders-Algra, 2006).…”

“…During this time window, the brain undergoes dramatic molecular transformations, which are manifested both structurally and functionally (de Graaf-Peters and Hadders-Algra, 2006). Notably, shortly after the brain development is accomplished, the process of brain aging commences at early adulthood, which is revealed by the gradual decline of the brain ability to absorb and process the flow of information (Sowell et al, 2004; Peters et al, 2008; Salthouse, 2009; May, 2011; Zhan et al, 2013). However, more recent research has revealed that changes in brain circuits are not exclusively restricted to the early stages of brain development, and has supported the concept of continuous neuroplasticity throughout live (May, 2011; Taubert et al, 2012).…”