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Updated: Aug 4, 2025
09:57
How to Measure Cortical Folding from MR Images: a Step-by-Step Tutorial to Compute Local Gyrification Index
Published on: January 2, 2012
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Developmental mechanisms of gyrification
Virginia Fernández1, Víctor Borrell1
1Instituto de Neurociencias, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas &Universidad Miguel Hernández, Sant Joan d'Alacant 03550, Spain.
Current Opinion in Neurobiology
|March 31, 2023
Summary
Cerebral cortex folding, or gyrification, is key to brain evolution, enabling larger, more complex brains. This overview details recent advances in understanding the developmental processes that shape brain structure.
Area of Science:
- Developmental neuroscience
- Evolutionary biology
- Neuroanatomy
Background:
- Cortical folding is crucial for mammalian brain evolution, increasing size and complexity.
- This process optimizes brain organization, wiring, and cranial fitting during development.
- It involves intricate cellular, mechanical, and genetic regulatory mechanisms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide an updated overview of recent advances in cortical gyrification.
- To synthesize current knowledge on the developmental mechanisms regulating brain folding.
Main Methods:
- Review of recent scientific literature on cortical development.
- Analysis of cellular and mechanical processes involved in gyrification.
- Examination of genetic regulatory programs.
Main Results:
- Significant progress has been made in understanding the cellular and molecular drivers of cortical folding.
- Key insights into the roles of neural stem progenitor cells and neuronal migration.
- Advances in deciphering the genetic control of gyrification patterns.
Conclusions:
- Cortical folding is a complex, multi-faceted process essential for brain evolution.
- Recent research has significantly enhanced our understanding of its developmental regulation.
- Further investigation into these mechanisms can inform our knowledge of brain development and evolution.
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