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How to Measure Cortical Folding from MR Images: a Step-by-Step Tutorial to Compute Local Gyrification Index
Published on: January 2, 2012
Gyral window mapping of typical cortical folding using MRI
Brynn A Dombroski1, Andrew E Switala, Ayman S El-Baz
1Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292, USA.
Insights
Brain development in children and young adults shows significant changes in white matter depth and gyrification. These patterns are linked to age, lobe, and hemisphere, suggesting malleable corticocortical connections during development.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Neuroscience
- Neuroimaging
Background:
- White matter depth and gyrification are key indicators of brain development.
- Previous research links gyral window measurements to corticocortical connections.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate normative white matter depth and gyrification in typically developing children and young adults.
- To identify age, sex, lobe, and hemisphere influences on these developmental trajectories.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the NIH Pediatric MRI Data Repository for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data.
- Analyzed white matter depth within gyri across frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital lobes in 312 participants (ages 4-23).
- Statistical analysis examined dependencies on age, sex, lobe, and hemisphere, including interaction effects.
Main Results:
- Gyrification significantly increased with age in frontal, temporal, and parietal lobes, with an inverse effect in the occipital lobe.
- White matter depth showed significant dependence on age, lobe, hemisphere, and age-sex/lobe/hemisphere interactions.
- Relative gyral depth was inversely correlated with the gyrification index.
Conclusions:
- Brain structure, specifically white matter depth and gyrification, undergoes significant changes throughout childhood and young adulthood.
- These developmental changes suggest that the pattern of corticocortical connections is adaptable during the first two decades of life.
- Findings provide normative data crucial for understanding typical brain maturation and identifying developmental abnormalities.
Abstract:
Using the NIH Pediatric MRI Data Repository for normative developmental studies, white matter depth within the gyri of the frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital lobes, and of the left and right hemisphere was identified for 312 typically developing children and young adults (168 male and 144 female) between 4 and 23 years of age. There was no significant age difference between male and female groups overall (F(1,867) = 0.0002; p = 0.99) or per-visit (F(2,867) = 2.18; p = 0.86). There was significant dependence of gyral window upon age (F(1,6544) = 115, p < 0.0001), lobe (F(3,6544) = 229, p < 0.0001), hemisphere (F(1,6544) = 5.23, p = 0.022), age*sex (F(1,6544) = 13.8, p = 0.0002), age*lobe (F(3,6544) = 120, p = 0.0001), and age*hemisphere (F(1,6544) = 4.41, p = 0.036). Gyrification increased with age in both males and females in the frontal, temporal and parietal lobes with opposite effects observed in the occipital lobe. Relative gyral depth, as measured in this study, was significantly (p < 0.0001) inversely correlated with gyrification index. Previous studies relate gyral window measurements to the differential expression of short and long corticocortical projections. Our results therefore suggest that the pattern of corticocortical connections is malleable during the first two decades of development.
