title: Spatial mapping of structural and connectional imaging data for the developing human brain with diffusion tensor imaging.
abstract: During human brain development from fetal stage to adulthood, the white matter (WM) tracts undergo dramatic changes. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), a widely used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) modality, offers insight into the dynamic changes of WM fibers as these fibers can be noninvasively traced and three-dimensionally (3D) reconstructed with DTI tractography. The DTI and conventional T1 weighted MRI images also provide sufficient cortical anatomical details for mapping the cortical regions of interests (ROIs). In this paper, we described basic concepts and methods of DTI techniques that can be used to trace major WM tracts noninvasively from fetal brain of 14 postconceptional weeks (pcw) to adult brain. We applied these techniques to acquire DTI data and trace, reconstruct and visualize major WM tracts during development. After categorizing major WM fiber bundles into five unique functional tract groups, namely limbic, brain stem, projection, commissural and association tracts, we revealed formation and maturation of these 3D reconstructed WM tracts of the developing human brain. The structural and connectional imaging data offered by DTI provides the anatomical backbone of transcriptional atlas of the developing human brain.
authors.affiliation: Advanced Imaging Research Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, United States.
authors.forename: Austin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ouyang
authors.affiliation: Advanced Imaging Research Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, United States.
authors.forename: Tina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jeon
authors.affiliation: Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, United States.
authors.forename: Susan M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Sunkin
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology and Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, United States.
authors.forename: Mihovil
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pletikos
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology and Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, United States; University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, Salata 12, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Goran
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sedmak
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology and Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, United States.
authors.forename: Nenad
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sestan
authors.affiliation: Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, United States.
authors.forename: Ed S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Lein
authors.affiliation: Advanced Imaging Research Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, United States; Department of Radiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, United States. Electronic address: hao.huang@utsouthwestern.edu.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000196:embryology* / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D047109:Fetal Development / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D013223:Statistics as Topic / Q000379:methods; D066127:White Matter / Q000196:embryology* / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism
keywords: Connection; Cortical mapping; DTI; Fetal brain; Human brain development; Tractography