Shifts in myeloarchitecture characterise adolescent development of cortical gradients

We studied an accelerated longitudinal cohort of adolescents and young adults (n = 234, two time points) to investigate dynamic reconfigurations in myeloarchitecture. Intracortical profiles were generated using magnetization transfer (MT) data, a myelin-sensitive magnetic resonance imaging contrast. Mixed-effect models of depth specific intracortical profiles demonstrated two separate processes i) overall increases in MT, and ii) flattening of the MT profile related to enhanced signal in mid-to-deeper layers, especially in heteromodal and unimodal association cortices. This development was independent of morphological changes. Enhanced MT in mid-to-deeper layers was found to spatially co-localise specifically with gene expression markers of oligodendrocytes. Interregional covariance analysis revealed that these intracortical changes contributed to a gradual differentiation of higher-order from lower-order systems. Depth-dependent trajectories of intracortical myeloarchitectural development contribute to the maturation of structural hierarchies in the human neocortex, providing a model for adolescent development that bridges microstructural and macroscopic scales of brain organisation.