Early childhood development of white matter fiber density and morphology
Early childhood is an important period for cognitive and brain development, though white matter changes specific to this period remain understudied. Here we utilize a novel analytic approach to quantify and track developmental changes in white matter micro- and macro-structure, calculated from indiv...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2020-04-01
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| Series: | NeuroImage |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811920300392 |
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doaj-6081ac0617764aba92b5c38119fa7987 |
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| record_format |
Article |
| collection |
DOAJ |
| language |
English |
| format |
Article |
| sources |
DOAJ |
| author |
Dennis Dimond Christiane S. Rohr Robert E. Smith Thijs Dhollander Ivy Cho Catherine Lebel Deborah Dewey Alan Connelly Signe Bray |
| spellingShingle |
Dennis Dimond Christiane S. Rohr Robert E. Smith Thijs Dhollander Ivy Cho Catherine Lebel Deborah Dewey Alan Connelly Signe Bray Early childhood development of white matter fiber density and morphology NeuroImage Early childhood Fiber bundle morphology Fiber density Fixel-based analysis White matter |
| author_facet |
Dennis Dimond Christiane S. Rohr Robert E. Smith Thijs Dhollander Ivy Cho Catherine Lebel Deborah Dewey Alan Connelly Signe Bray |
| author_sort |
Dennis Dimond |
| title |
Early childhood development of white matter fiber density and morphology |
| title_short |
Early childhood development of white matter fiber density and morphology |
| title_full |
Early childhood development of white matter fiber density and morphology |
| title_fullStr |
Early childhood development of white matter fiber density and morphology |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Early childhood development of white matter fiber density and morphology |
| title_sort |
early childhood development of white matter fiber density and morphology |
| publisher |
Elsevier |
| series |
NeuroImage |
| issn |
1095-9572 |
| publishDate |
2020-04-01 |
| description |
Early childhood is an important period for cognitive and brain development, though white matter changes specific to this period remain understudied. Here we utilize a novel analytic approach to quantify and track developmental changes in white matter micro- and macro-structure, calculated from individually oriented fiber-bundle populations, termed “fixels”. Fixel-based analysis and mixed-effects models were used to assess tract-wise changes in fiber density and bundle morphology in 73 girls scanned at baseline (ages 4.09–7.02, mean = 5.47, SD = 0.81), 6-month (N = 7), and one-year follow-up (N = 42). For comparison, we also assessed changes in commonly utilized diffusion tensor metrics: fractional anisotropy (FA), and mean, radial and axial diffusivity (MD, RD, AD). Maturational increases in fixel-metrics were seen in most major white matter tracts, with the most rapid increases in the corticospinal tract and slowest or non-significant increases in the genu of the corpus callosum and uncinate fasciculi. As expected, we observed developmental increases in FA and decreases in MD, RD and AD, though percent changes were smaller relative to fixel-metrics. The majority of tracts showed more substantial morphological than microstructural changes. These findings highlight early childhood as a period of dynamic white matter maturation, characterized by large increases in macroscopic fiber bundle size, mild changes in axonal density, and parallel, albeit less substantial, changes in diffusion tensor metrics. |
| topic |
Early childhood Fiber bundle morphology Fiber density Fixel-based analysis White matter |
| url |
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811920300392 |
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doaj-6081ac0617764aba92b5c38119fa79872020-11-25T03:52:32ZengElsevierNeuroImage1095-95722020-04-01210116552Early childhood development of white matter fiber density and morphologyDennis Dimond0Christiane S. Rohr1Robert E. Smith2Thijs Dhollander3Ivy Cho4Catherine Lebel5Deborah Dewey6Alan Connelly7Signe Bray8Department of Neuroscience, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Child and Adolescent Imaging Research Program, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Corresponding author. Alberta Children’s Hospital, 28 Oki Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta, T3B 6A8, Canada.Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Child and Adolescent Imaging Research Program, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, CanadaThe Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; The Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaThe Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; The Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Developmental Imaging, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaDepartment of Psychological Clinical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, CanadaAlberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Child and Adolescent Imaging Research Program, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Owerko Centre, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research and Education, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, CanadaAlberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Owerko Centre, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Department of Paediatrics, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, CanadaThe Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; The Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaAlberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Child and Adolescent Imaging Research Program, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Owerko Centre, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research and Education, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; Department of Radiology, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, CanadaEarly childhood is an important period for cognitive and brain development, though white matter changes specific to this period remain understudied. Here we utilize a novel analytic approach to quantify and track developmental changes in white matter micro- and macro-structure, calculated from individually oriented fiber-bundle populations, termed “fixels”. Fixel-based analysis and mixed-effects models were used to assess tract-wise changes in fiber density and bundle morphology in 73 girls scanned at baseline (ages 4.09–7.02, mean = 5.47, SD = 0.81), 6-month (N = 7), and one-year follow-up (N = 42). For comparison, we also assessed changes in commonly utilized diffusion tensor metrics: fractional anisotropy (FA), and mean, radial and axial diffusivity (MD, RD, AD). Maturational increases in fixel-metrics were seen in most major white matter tracts, with the most rapid increases in the corticospinal tract and slowest or non-significant increases in the genu of the corpus callosum and uncinate fasciculi. As expected, we observed developmental increases in FA and decreases in MD, RD and AD, though percent changes were smaller relative to fixel-metrics. The majority of tracts showed more substantial morphological than microstructural changes. These findings highlight early childhood as a period of dynamic white matter maturation, characterized by large increases in macroscopic fiber bundle size, mild changes in axonal density, and parallel, albeit less substantial, changes in diffusion tensor metrics.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811920300392Early childhoodFiber bundle morphologyFiber densityFixel-based analysisWhite matter |