Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 7, 2025

Profiling Maternal Behavior Responses During Whole-Brain Imaging
07:12

Profiling Maternal Behavior Responses During Whole-Brain Imaging

Published on: January 24, 2025

865

Trajectories of brain volumes in young children are associated with maternal education

Changbo Zhu1, Yaqing Chen2, Hans-Georg Müller3

  • 1Department of Applied and Computational Mathematics and Statistics, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana, USA.

Human Brain Mapping
|March 10, 2023
PubMed

Insights

Child brain development, measured by proportional cerebrospinal fluid (pCSF), grey matter (pGM), and white matter (pWM) volumes, varies with maternal education. New statistical methods analyze this longitudinal neuroimaging data.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Biology
  • Biostatistics

Background:

  • Childhood brain development involves changes in proportional cerebrospinal fluid (pCSF), grey matter (pGM), and white matter (pWM) volumes.
  • Analyzing longitudinal neuroimaging data presents challenges such as sparse observations and compositional data structures.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate brain tissue composition changes during early childhood (18-96 months).
  • To introduce and apply a novel statistical methodology for analyzing longitudinal neuroimaging data.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal cohort study of 388 children from 18 to 96 months.
  • Development and application of Riemannian Principal Analysis through Conditional Expectation (RPACE) methodology.
  • Analysis of proportional brain tissue volumes (pCSF, pGM, pWM).

Main Results:

  • The RPACE methodology effectively addresses challenges in longitudinal neuroimaging data analysis.
  • Significant differences in longitudinal brain tissue composition growth were observed.
  • Maternal education level was found to be a significant factor influencing these developmental trajectories.

Conclusions:

  • Maternal education level is associated with distinct patterns of early childhood brain development.
  • The RPACE methodology offers a robust approach for analyzing complex longitudinal neuroimaging data.
  • Further research can explore the specific mechanisms linking maternal education and brain development.

Keywords:
brain volumescerebrospinal fluidcompositional datafunctional principal component analysisgrey matterlongitudinal brain developmentwhite matter

More Related Videos

Author Spotlight: Bridging Gaps in Anatomy and Establishing a Foundation for Algorithmic Studies04:25

Author Spotlight: Bridging Gaps in Anatomy and Establishing a Foundation for Algorithmic Studies

Published on: December 15, 2023

2.6K
Brain Morphology of Cannabis Users With or Without Psychosis: A Pilot MRI Study07:30

Brain Morphology of Cannabis Users With or Without Psychosis: A Pilot MRI Study

Published on: August 18, 2020

6.7K

Related Concept Videos

Biological Influences on Intelligence01:30

Biological Influences on Intelligence

Intelligence is often thought to be linked to brain size, but the relationship is more complex than that. While brain size does correlate modestly with some abilities, like verbal skills, the connection is weaker for others, such as spatial reasoning. Other factors, like brain structure, also play crucial roles. For instance, despite Einstein's smaller-than-average brain, his parietal cortex, which is involved in spatial reasoning, was 15% wider, suggesting that neural density might matter...
168
Environmental Influences on Intelligence01:29

Environmental Influences on Intelligence

Despite the strong genetic influence on traits like intelligence, environmental factors significantly shape outcomes. For example, while over 90% of height variation is due to genetic differences, environmental factors such as nutrition also have a notable impact. Similarly, for intelligence, changes in a child's surroundings can significantly alter their IQ. Research shows that enriched environments boost children's academic success and help them develop key cognitive skills. Children...
388
Regression Toward the Mean01:52

Regression Toward the Mean

Regression toward the mean (“RTM”) is a phenomenon in which extremely high or low values—for example, and individual’s blood pressure at a particular moment—appear closer to a group’s average upon remeasuring. Although this statistical peculiarity is the result of random error and chance, it has been problematic across various medical, scientific, financial and psychological applications. In particular, RTM, if not taken into account, can interfere when...
6.3K
Brain Imaging01:14

Brain Imaging

Brain imaging technologies provide critical insights into both the structure and function of the human brain, enabling medical professionals and researchers to diagnose, study, and treat neurological disorders or psychiatric disorders more effectively.
These technologies include computerized axial tomography (CAT or CT scans), positron-emission tomography (PET scans),  magnetic resonance imaging (MRI),  functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and Transcranial Magnetic...
272
Longitudinal Studies01:26

Longitudinal Studies

Longitudinal studies are also widely used in other medical and social science fields. For instance, in cardiovascular research, they can monitor patients' health over decades to identify risk factors for heart disease, such as high cholesterol or smoking, and evaluate the long-term effectiveness of preventive measures. Similarly, in mental health studies, researchers might follow individuals from adolescence into adulthood to understand the development and progression of conditions like...
195
Information Processing Approach01:30

Information Processing Approach

The information-processing theory of cognitive development centers on fundamental mental processes, including attention, memory, and problem-solving skills. Researchers in this field examine how cognitive abilities, such as working memory, evolve and influence children's overall development. Studies indicate that children with stronger working memory tend to excel in reading comprehension, math, and problem-solving compared to peers with less efficient memory skills. Low working memory is...
87