Morphometric Development of Pediatric Auditory Centers: A Retrospective Analysis
Alper Vatansever1, Gökhan Ocakoğlu2, Sefa Işıklar3
1Faculty of Medicine, Department of Anatomy, Bursa Uludag University, Bursa, Türkiye.
Insights
Auditory cortex development shows significant shape changes in the medial geniculate body and auditory cortex from childhood to adolescence. These brain changes also differ between genders in children.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- The medial geniculate body and transverse temporal gyrus are crucial for auditory development in infancy.
- Understanding structural brain changes in childhood is vital for identifying developmental trajectories.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate age and gender-related shape differences in the medial geniculate body.
- To evaluate morphometric parameters of the auditory cortex across pediatric age groups.
Main Methods:
- Utilized magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) from 525 children aged 1-18 years.
- Performed statistical shape analysis (Generalized Procrustes Analysis) on the medial geniculate body.
- Assessed auditory cortex morphometrics using vol2Brain and DeepThalamus.
Main Results:
- Significant enlargement of the medial geniculate body shape was observed with age, particularly from early to middle childhood.
- Auditory cortex morphometric parameters differed significantly in early childhood compared to other age groups.
- A trend towards a wider auditory cortex was noted in males.
Conclusions:
- The medial geniculate body and auditory cortex undergo significant shape and morphometric changes during childhood and adolescence.
- These developmental changes exhibit variations between genders.
- Findings may inform future research on hearing disorders and neurodevelopmental trajectories.
Abstract:
The medial geniculate body and transverse temporal gyrus are important during infancy since significant development occurs in auditory function. The main aim of this study was to evaluate shape differences of the medial geniculate body and morphometric parameters of the auditory cortex between different age and gender groups. A total number of 525 children's axial magnetic resonance image series were included in the presented study. These images were divided into three groups: early childhood (1-6 years of age), middle childhood (6-12 years of age), and teenage (12-18 years of age). Statistical shape analyses of the right and left medial geniculate bodies were examined by a Generalized Procrustes Analysis. Morphometric properties of the auditory cortex were evaluated using vol2Brain and DeepThalamus services. Our results showed significant enlargement of the shape of the medial geniculate body among age groups, especially from the early childhood term to the middle childhood term. Moreover, morphometric parameters of the auditory cortex had significant differences in the early childhood group compared to other age groups. It was seen that men's auditory cortex tended to be wider. These results demonstrated both shape changes in the medial geniculate body and changes in the morphometric properties of the auditory cortex from childhood to adolescence and changes between genders. Further clinical studies based on our results may be used to gather more detailed information about hearing disorders and neuronal development.
