Coordinated brain development: exploring the synchrony between changes in grey and white matter during childhood...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Neuroscience
• Neuroimaging

Background:

• Childhood brain development involves global architectural changes, including cortical thinning and white matter microstructure alterations.
• Coordinated development across brain regions is observed, but the co-localization of grey and white matter changes remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between grey matter (cortical thickness) and white matter (fractional anisotropy) developmental changes.
• To examine asynchronous maturation and structural decoupling within brain regions during childhood and early adolescence.

Main Methods:

• Utilized multimodal neuroimaging: structural MRI for cortical thickness (CT) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) for fractional anisotropy (FA).
• Analyzed developmental trajectories and covariance between CT and FA in 249 typically developing children aged 7-14.

Main Results:

• Confirmed overall cortical thinning and increased FA with age.
• Demonstrated high similarity in covariance between grey matter regions and connecting white matter tracts, indicating mirrored development.
• Identified significant structural decoupling between specific regions and tracts (e.g., forceps minor) in 9- to 11-year-olds.

Conclusions:

• Coordinated grey and white matter development is largely mirrored in connecting white matter tracts.
• Structural decoupling in mid-childhood may reflect localized developmental patterns in prefrontal regions, potentially linked to cognitive control maturation.