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Biomechanical Analysis of Normal Brain Development during the First Year of Life Using Finite Strain Theory
Jeong Chul Kim1,2, Li Wang1,3, Dinggang Shen1,3
1Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
Insights
Human brain development in the first year is anisotropic and uneven. This study used MRI and biomechanics to map infant brain growth, revealing specific directional stretching patterns and decreasing growth rates with age.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Biophysics
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- The first year of life is crucial for human brain development.
- Understanding normal brain growth patterns is essential for identifying developmental abnormalities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate normal human brain development during the first year of life.
- To provide biomechanical insights into brain growth using a framework combining MRI and finite strain theory.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of 33 infants from 2 weeks to 1 year of age.
- Estimation of voxel-wise Jacobian determinant for volumetric changes.
- Measurement of Lagrange strains (normal and shear) to analyze directional growth every 3 months.
Main Results:
- Gray matter growth is anisotropic and spatially inhomogeneous, particularly in the first 6 months.
- Specific directional stretch patterns were observed in different brain regions (e.g., left-right in temporal lobes, anterior-posterior in frontal/occipital lobes).
- Anterior lateral ventricles and insula exhibited isotropic stretch; growth rates generally decreased with age.
Conclusions:
- The human brain exhibits complex, anisotropic, and inhomogeneous growth patterns during the first year of life.
- A biomechanical framework using longitudinal MRI effectively reveals directional brain development.
- Findings contribute to a deeper understanding of normative infant brain structural development.
Abstract:
The first year of life is the most critical time period for structural and functional development of the human brain. Combining longitudinal MR imaging and finite strain theory, this study aimed to provide new insights into normal brain development through a biomechanical framework. Thirty-three normal infants were longitudinally imaged using MRI from 2 weeks to 1 year of age. Voxel-wise Jacobian determinant was estimated to elucidate volumetric changes while Lagrange strains (both normal and shear strains) were measured to reveal directional growth information every 3 months during the first year of life. Directional normal strain maps revealed that, during the first 6 months, the growth pattern of gray matter is anisotropic and spatially inhomogeneous with higher left-right stretch around the temporal lobe and interhemispheric fissure, anterior-posterior stretch in the frontal and occipital lobes, and superior-inferior stretch in right inferior occipital and right inferior temporal gyri. In contrast, anterior lateral ventricles and insula showed an isotropic stretch pattern. Volumetric and directional growth rates were linearly decreased with age for most of the cortical regions. Our results revealed anisotropic and inhomogeneous brain growth patterns of the human brain during the first year of life using longitudinal MRI and a biomechanical framework.
