title: Coordinated brain development: exploring the synchrony between changes in grey and white matter during childhood maturation.
abstract: Brain development during childhood and early adolescence is characterized by global changes in brain architecture. Neuroimaging studies have revealed overall decreases in cortical thickness (CT) and increases in fractional anisotropy (FA). Furthermore, previous studies have shown that certain cortical regions display coordinated growth during development. However, there is significant heterogeneity in the timing and speed of these developmental transformations, and it is still unclear whether white and grey matter changes are co-localized. In this multimodal neuroimaging study, we investigated the relationship between grey and white matter developmental changes and asynchronous maturation within brain regions in 249 normally developing children between the ages 7-14. We used structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to analyze CT and FA, respectively, as well as their covariance across development. Consistent with previous studies, we observed overall cortical thinning with age, which was accompanied by increased FA. We then compared the coordinated development of grey and white matter as indexed by covariance measures. Covariance between grey matter regions and the microstructure of white matter tracts connecting those regions were highly similar, suggesting that coordinated changes in the cortex were mirrored by coordinated changes in their respective tracts. Examining within-brain divergent trajectories, we found significant structural decoupling (decreased covariance) between several brain regions and tracts in the 9- to 11-year-old group, particularly involving the forceps minor and the regions that it connects to. We argue that this decoupling could reflect a developmental pattern within the prefrontal region in 9- and 11-year-old children, possibly related to the significant changes in cognitive control observed at this age.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of Sao Paulo, Rua Borges Lagoa, 570 1°Andar, CEP, São Paulo, 04039-032, Brazil. lummoura@gmail.com.|Interdisciplinary Lab of Clinical Neurosciences (LiNC), Federal University of Sao Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil. lummoura@gmail.com.|Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neurosciences, King's College London, London, UK. lummoura@gmail.com.
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Moura
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neurosciences, King's College London, London, UK.|Biological and Medical Engineering Institute and Department of Psychiatry, P. Catholic University of Chile, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Crossley
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of Sao Paulo, Rua Borges Lagoa, 570 1°Andar, CEP, São Paulo, 04039-032, Brazil.|Interdisciplinary Lab of Clinical Neurosciences (LiNC), Federal University of Sao Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil.|Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neurosciences, King's College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zugman
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of Sao Paulo, Rua Borges Lagoa, 570 1°Andar, CEP, São Paulo, 04039-032, Brazil.|Interdisciplinary Lab of Clinical Neurosciences (LiNC), Federal University of Sao Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of Sao Paulo, Rua Borges Lagoa, 570 1°Andar, CEP, São Paulo, 04039-032, Brazil.|Interdisciplinary Lab of Clinical Neurosciences (LiNC), Federal University of Sao Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gadelha
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of Sao Paulo, Rua Borges Lagoa, 570 1°Andar, CEP, São Paulo, 04039-032, Brazil.|Interdisciplinary Lab of Clinical Neurosciences (LiNC), Federal University of Sao Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: M A G
authors.initials: MAG
authors.lastname: Del Aquilla
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development (CNPq), São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: F A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Picon
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development (CNPq), São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Anés
authors.affiliation: Radiology Department, Sao Paulo Medical School, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Amaro
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of Sao Paulo, Rua Borges Lagoa, 570 1°Andar, CEP, São Paulo, 04039-032, Brazil.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: de Jesus Mari
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Sao Paulo Medical School, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: E C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Miguel
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development (CNPq), São Paulo, Brazil.|Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Rohde
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of Sao Paulo, Rua Borges Lagoa, 570 1°Andar, CEP, São Paulo, 04039-032, Brazil.|Interdisciplinary Lab of Clinical Neurosciences (LiNC), Federal University of Sao Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Bressan
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neurosciences, King's College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: McGuire
authors.affiliation: Center of Mathematics, Computation and Cognition, Universidade Federal do ABC, Santo Andre, Brazil.
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of Sao Paulo, Rua Borges Lagoa, 570 1°Andar, CEP, São Paulo, 04039-032, Brazil.|Interdisciplinary Lab of Clinical Neurosciences (LiNC), Federal University of Sao Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Jackowski
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000254:growth & development*; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D005260:Female; D066128:Gray Matter / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000254:growth & development*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D064847:Multimodal Imaging; D009929:Organ Size; D066127:White Matter / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000254:growth & development*
keywords: Children; Connectivity; Frontopolar cortex; Neurodevelopment; Structural covariance