Adolescent brain maturation and cortical folding : evidence for reductions in gyrification

  • Evidence from anatomical and functional imaging studies have highlighted major modifications of cortical circuits during adolescence. These include reductions of gray matter (GM), increases in the myelination of cortico-cortical connections and changes in the architecture of large-scale cortical networks. It is currently unclear, however, how the ongoing developmental processes impact upon the folding of the cerebral cortex and how changes in gyrification relate to maturation of GM/WM-volume, thickness and surface area. In the current study, we acquired high-resolution (3 Tesla) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from 79 healthy subjects (34 males and 45 females) between the ages of 12 and 23 years and performed whole brain analysis of cortical folding patterns with the gyrification index (GI). In addition to GI-values, we obtained estimates of cortical thickness, surface area, GM and white matter (WM) volume which permitted correlations with changes in gyrification. Our data show pronounced and widespread reductions in GI-values during adolescence in several cortical regions which include precentral, temporal and frontal areas. Decreases in gyrification overlap only partially with changes in the thickness, volume and surface of GM and were characterized overall by a linear developmental trajectory. Our data suggest that the observed reductions in GI-values represent an additional, important modification of the cerebral cortex during late brain maturation which may be related to cognitive development.

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Author:Daniel Klein, Anna Rotarska-Jagiela, Erhan GençORCiDGND, Sharmili Sritharan, Harald Mohr, Frederic Roux, Cheol E. Han, Marcus Kaiser, Wolf SingerORCiDGND, Peter J. UhlhaasORCiDGND
URN:urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-328419
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0084914
ISSN:1932-6203
Pubmed Id:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24454765
Parent Title (English):PLoS One
Publisher:PLoS
Place of publication:Lawrence, Kan.
Document Type:Article
Language:English
Date of Publication (online):2014/01/15
Date of first Publication:2014/01/15
Publishing Institution:Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg
Release Date:2014/01/27
Volume:9
Issue:(1):e84914
Page Number:10
Note:
Copyright: © 2014 Klein et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
HeBIS-PPN:36366081X
Institutes:Psychologie und Sportwissenschaften / Psychologie
Medizin / Medizin
Wissenschaftliche Zentren und koordinierte Programme / Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS)
Angeschlossene und kooperierende Institutionen / MPI für Hirnforschung
Dewey Decimal Classification:1 Philosophie und Psychologie / 15 Psychologie / 150 Psychologie
6 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / 61 Medizin und Gesundheit / 610 Medizin und Gesundheit
Sammlungen:Universitätspublikationen
Licence (German):License LogoCreative Commons - Namensnennung 4.0