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Myelination shapes functional activity in the developing brain

Eleonora Fornari1, Maria G Knyazeva, Reto Meuli

  • 1Department of Radiology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV) and University of Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland. Eleonora.Fornari@chuv.ch

Neuroimage
|September 25, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Children

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Neuroscience

Background:

  • Spatial integration (SI) develops gradually throughout childhood and adolescence.
  • Understanding the neural basis of SI in children is crucial for developmental neuroscience.
  • The role of myelination in functional brain development requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify the neural substrate of spatial integration in children.
  • To investigate the influence of myelination on brain activity related to spatial integration.
  • To compare developmental patterns of spatial integration with adult findings.

Main Methods:

  • Employed a combined functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and Magnetization Transfer Imaging (MTI) technique.
  • Scanned 14 children (ages 7-13) while they viewed visual stimuli designed to elicit spatial integration.
  • Analyzed Blood-Oxygen-Level-Dependent (BOLD) responses and myelination levels in specific brain regions.

Main Results:

  • Spatial integration-induced BOLD response in children was localized to a ventral stream area in the lingual gyrus.
  • This activation pattern partially corresponds to adult SI-related activation in VP/V4 areas.
  • The observed BOLD response significantly correlated with the myelination of splenial fibers.

Conclusions:

  • Extrastriate area activation supporting spatial integration in children is dependent on the maturation of long-range connections.
  • Myelination of white matter tracts plays a critical role in the development of functional brain networks for spatial integration.
  • This study provides insights into the neural maturation of visual processing and spatial cognition during childhood.

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