title: Structural brain development between childhood and adulthood: Convergence across four longitudinal samples.
abstract: Longitudinal studies including brain measures acquired through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have enabled population models of human brain development, crucial for our understanding of typical development as well as neurodevelopmental disorders. Brain development in the first two decades generally involves early cortical grey matter volume (CGMV) increases followed by decreases, and monotonic increases in cerebral white matter volume (CWMV). However, inconsistencies regarding the precise developmental trajectories call into question the comparability of samples. This issue can be addressed by conducting a comprehensive study across multiple datasets from diverse populations. Here, we present replicable models for gross structural brain development between childhood and adulthood (ages 8-30years) by repeating analyses in four separate longitudinal samples (391 participants; 852 scans). In addition, we address how accounting for global measures of cranial/brain size affect these developmental trajectories. First, we found evidence for continued development of both intracranial volume (ICV) and whole brain volume (WBV) through adolescence, albeit following distinct trajectories. Second, our results indicate that CGMV is at its highest in childhood, decreasing steadily through the second decade with deceleration in the third decade, while CWMV increases until mid-to-late adolescence before decelerating. Importantly, we show that accounting for cranial/brain size affects models of regional brain development, particularly with respect to sex differences. Our results increase confidence in our knowledge of the pattern of brain changes during adolescence, reduce concerns about discrepancies across samples, and suggest some best practices for statistical control of cranial volume and brain size in future studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA; Center for Translational Neuroscience, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA. Electronic address: kathryn.l.mills@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Kathryn L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Mills
authors.affiliation: Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Anne-Lise
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Goddings
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine at USC/Children's Hospital of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Megan M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Herting
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Meuwese
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Sarah-Jayne
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Blakemore
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Eveline A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Crone
authors.affiliation: Institute of Human Development, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Ronald E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Dahl
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Berna
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Güroğlu
authors.affiliation: Child Psychiatry Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Armin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Raznahan
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine at USC/Children's Hospital of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Sowell
authors.affiliation: Research Group for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Christian K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Tamnes
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology* / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000254:growth & development*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D066128:Gray Matter / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D066127:White Matter / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Adolescence; Cerebral cortex; MRI; Replication; Sex differences; White matter