title: Brain volume and shape in infants with deformational plagiocephaly.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Infants with deformational plagiocephaly (DP) have been shown to exhibit developmental delays relative to unaffected infants. Although the mechanisms accounting for these delays are unknown, one hypothesis focuses on underlying differences in brain development. In this study, we used MRI to examine brain volume and shape in infants with and without DP.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants included 20 infants with DP (mean age = 7.9 months, SD = 1.2; n = 12 male) and 21 controls (mean age = 7.9 months, SD = 1.3; n = 11 male). Measures included volumes of the total brain and cerebellum; midsagittal areas of the corpus callosum and cerebellar vermis; and linear distance measures used to quantify the shape of selected brain structures. We also evaluated the association between shape measures and developmental scores on the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development-III (BSID-III).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Brain volume did not distinguish cases and controls (p = .214-.976). However, cases exhibited greater asymmetry and flattening of the posterior brain (p < .001-.002) and cerebellar vermis (p = .035), shortening of the corpus callosum (p = .012), and differences in the orientation of the corpus callosum (p = .005). Asymmetry and flattening of brain structures were associated with worse developmental outcomes on the BSID-III.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Infants with DP show differences in brain shape, consistent with the skull deformity characteristic of this condition, and shape measures were associated with infant development. Longitudinal studies, beginning in the neonatal period, are needed to clarify whether developmental effects precede or follow brain deformation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. bcollett@u.washington.edu
authors.forename: Brent R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Collett
authors.forename: Elizabeth H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Aylward
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Berg
authors.forename: Candice
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Davidoff
authors.forename: Justin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Norden
authors.forename: Michael L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Cunningham
authors.forename: Matthew L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Speltz
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D001921:Brain / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000473:pathology*; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007223:Infant; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D049068:Plagiocephaly, Nonsynostotic / Q000473:pathology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index