Sulcal pits and patterns in developing human brains

Abstract

Spatial distribution and specific geometric and topological patterning of early sulcal folds have been hypothesized to be under stronger genetic control and are more associated with optimal organization of cortical functional areas and their white matter connections, compared to later developing sulci. Several previous studies of sulcal pit (putative first sulcal fold) distribution and sulcal pattern analyses using graph structures have provided evidence of the importance of sulcal pits and patterns as remarkable anatomical features closely related to human brain function, suggesting additional insights concerning the anatomical and functional development of the human brain. Recently, early sulcal folding patterns have been observed in healthy fetuses and fetuses with brain abnormalities such as polymicrogyria and agenesis of corpus callosum. Graph-based quantitative sulcal pattern analysis has shown high sensitivity in detecting emerging subtle abnormalities in cerebral cortical growth in early fetal stages that are difficult to detect via qualitative visual assessment or using traditional cortical measures such as gyrification index and curvature. It has proven effective for characterizing genetically influenced early cortical folding development. Future studies will be aimed at better understanding a comprehensive map of spatio-temporal dynamics of fetal cortical folding in a large longitudinal cohort in order to examine individual clinical fetal MRIs and predict postnatal neurodevelopmental outcomes from early fetal life.

Plis de passage in the Superior Temporal Sulcus: Morphology and local connectivity

“…Auzias et al 2015) which relies on reproducible and highly local depressions of the surface. Although they were shown relevant for studies on development (Meng et al 2014;Brun et al 2016;Im et Grant 2019) and heritability (Le ) we still do not know their exact relationship with morphological patterns of sulci. For this purpose, PPs may be more appropriate, as they exhibit a complex geometry dependent on the shape of surrounding gyri (figure 2, 3) and closely related to the underlying white-matter (figure 4, 5).…”

Mapping causal pathways from genetics to neuropsychiatric disorders using genome‐wide imaging genetics: Current status and future directions

“…We are measuring genetic influences on brain structure within developmental time periods not critical to disease pathology. Developmental fetal and infant imaging perhaps would detect genetic correlations unobserved in adults Brain function, manifesting as the altered behaviors of individuals, could be changed in the absence of structural changes.…”

“…Developmental fetal and infant imaging perhaps would detect genetic correlations unobserved in adults. 121,122 • Brain function, manifesting as the altered behaviors of individuals, could be changed in the absence of structural changes. Given the intimate relationship between brain structure and function, 123 this seems unlikely.…”

Exploring folding patterns of infant cerebral cortex based on multi-view curvature features: Methods and applications

“…Human brain exhibits hemispheric asymmetries in terms of structure and function (Toga and Thompson, 2003). In existing infant studies, cortical hemispheric asymmetries, which appear before term birth and largely preserve during postnatal brain development, have been observed in various cortical measurements, e.g., surface area, sulcal depth, cortical thickness, vertex position, as well as sulcal pits distribution (Hill et al, 2010;Li et al, 2014d;Meng et al, 2014;Li et al, 2015a;Le Guen et al, 2017;Takerkart et al, 2017;Im and Grant, 2018). Herein, we found hemispheric asymmetries present in STG and cingulate cortex by comparing our discovered cortical folding patterns in left and right hemispheres of both infant and adult brains.…”