Maturation of normal primate cerebral tissue: preliminary results of a computed tomographic-anatomic correlation

Preliminary results of experimental cerebral computed tomography densitometric studies in newborn primates (baboon) indicate that (a) at birth the white matter of the frontal lobe is hypodense compared to the white matter of the parietal and occipital areas, (b) the white matter becomes increasingly dense with age, and (c) at 1 year of age the white matter in the frontal, parietal, and occipital areas of the brain becomes nearly equal in density. The ongoing myelinization process is considered to be one of the critical factors in these developmental changes.