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Lookup NU author(s): Sharmili Sritharan, Dr Cheol Han, Professor Marcus Kaiser
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
Evidence from anatomical and functional imaging studies have highlighted major modifications of cortical circuits during adolescence. These include reductions of gray matter (GM), increases in the myelination of cortico-cortical connections and changes in the architecture of large-scale cortical networks. It is currently unclear, however, how the ongoing developmental processes impact upon the folding of the cerebral cortex and how changes in gyrification relate to maturation of GM/WM-volume, thickness and surface area. In the current study, we acquired high-resolution (3 Tesla) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from 79 healthy subjects (34 males and 45 females) between the ages of 12 and 23 years and performed whole brain analysis of cortical folding patterns with the gyrification index (GI). In addition to GI-values, we obtained estimates of cortical thickness, surface area, GM and white matter (WM) volume which permitted correlations with changes in gyrification. Our data show pronounced and widespread reductions in GI-values during adolescence in several cortical regions which include precentral, temporal and frontal areas. Decreases in gyrification overlap only partially with changes in the thickness, volume and surface of GM and were characterized overall by a linear developmental trajectory. Our data suggest that the observed reductions in GI-values represent an additional, important modification of the cerebral cortex during late brain maturation which may be related to cognitive development.
Author(s): Klein D, Rotarska-Jagiela A, Genc E, Sritharan S, Mohr H, Roux F, Han CE, Kaiser M, Singer W, Uhlhaas PJ
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: PLoS One
Year: 2014
Volume: 9
Issue: 1
Online publication date: 15/01/2014
Acceptance date: 28/11/2013
Date deposited: 15/04/2014
ISSN (electronic): 1932-6203
Publisher: Public Library of Science
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0084914
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0084914
Notes: ARTN e84914
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