title: Variability of gray and white matter during normal development: a voxel-based MRI analysis.
abstract: This study was aimed at investigating regional and local variability of brain tissue during normal human brain development. We investigated high-resolution MR-imaging data using SPM99 (Wellcome Department, University College London, UK). A pixel-wise variation coefficient of gray and white matter was calculated to visualize local variability. Data from 200 normal children (5-18 years) were analyzed. We found a profound interaction between variability of brain structures and normal development in both gray and white matter. Variability in gray and white matter shows regionally specific, age-related variations, possibly offering a new tool for the assessment of subtle brain abnormalities. Our results emphasize the necessity to take this variability into account when planning pediatric neuroimaging studies.
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Psychiatry Imaging Research Center (ML 5031), Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA. Marko.Wilke@med.uni-tuebingen.de
authors.forename: Marko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wilke
authors.forename: Scott K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Holland
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000254:growth & development*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D012016:Reference Values