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Updated: May 7, 2026

Visualization of Cortical Modules in Flattened Mammalian Cortices

Visualization of Cortical Modules in Flattened Mammalian Cortices

Published on: January 22, 2018

The human cerebral cortex flattens during adolescence.

Yasser Alemán-Gómez¹, Joost Janssen, Hugo Schnack

¹Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, and Servicio de Psiquiatría del Niño y Adolecente, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, 28007 Madrid, Spain, Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Utrecht, 3584 CG, Utrecht, The Netherlands, The Behavioral Neurosciences Program, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H2L1K6, Departament de Psiquiatria i Psicologia Infantil i Juvenil, SGR-1119, Institut de Neurociències, Universitat de Barcelona, IDIBAPS, CIBERSAM, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain, Unidad de Salud Mental Infanto-Juvenil, Departamento de Psiquiatría y Psicología, Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla, 39008 Santander, Spain, and Departamento de Bioingeniería e Ingeniería Aeroespacial, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, 28911, Leganés, Madrid, Spain.

The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience

|September 20, 2013

Summary

Adolescent brain development involves cortical flattening, characterized by widening sulci and thinning gray matter. This process is linked to white matter maturation and affects the frontal and occipital cortices significantly.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Developmental Biology
Radiology

Background:

The human cerebral cortex undergoes significant changes during adolescence.
Previous research suggests a shrinking or thinning of the cortex during this developmental period.

Purpose of the Study:

To precisely map the dynamic morphological changes in the adolescent cerebral cortex.
To investigate the relationship between gray matter changes and white matter maturation.

Main Methods:

Longitudinal neuroimaging (magnetic resonance imaging) of 52 healthy adolescents (11-17 years old) over approximately 2 years.
Advanced morphometric analysis using FreeSurfer and BrainVisa software to quantify cortical thickness, surface area, gyrification index, sulcal dimensions, and white matter thickness.
Analysis of global and lobar changes in cortical architecture.

Main Results:

The adolescent cerebral cortex flattens, particularly in frontal and occipital regions.
Cortical flattening is associated with widening sulci, decreased sulcal depth, and cortical thinning.
Frontal cortex flattening correlates with surface area loss, while other lobes show thinning related to gyral white matter expansion.

Conclusions:

Adolescent cortical flattening is a complex process involving both gray matter alterations and white matter maturation.
Macrostructural changes in the brain during adolescence contribute to the overall development of the cerebral cortex.