Faculty Collaboration Database

Cortical and subcortical changes in typically developing preadolescent children. Brain Res 2011 Jul 05;1399:15-24

Date

06/07/2011

Pubmed ID

21640983

Pubmed Central ID

PMC3142577

DOI

10.1016/j.brainres.2011.05.018

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-79958773615 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   45 Citations

Abstract

There is evidence that abnormal cerebral development during childhood is a risk factor for various cognitive and psychiatric disorders. There is not, however, sufficient normative data available on large samples of typically developing children, especially within the narrow preadolescent age range. We analyzed high resolution MRI images from 126 normally developing children between ages 6 and 10 years. Age related differences in cortical thickness and in the volumes of major subcortical structures were assessed. Thinner cortices were observed in the occipital, parietal and somatosensory regions as well as in distinct regions of the temporal and frontal lobes with increasing age. Among the major subcortical structures analyzed in this study, only the thalamus showed increased volume with age after accounting for intracranial volume. Within the age range studied age-related cortical and subcortical differences were similar for boys and girls except for the right insula, where girls showed a slight increase in thickness with age. The findings reveal age-associated changes in brain anatomy, providing information about the trajectory of normal brain development during late childhood.

Author List

Muftuler LT, Davis EP, Buss C, Head K, Hasso AN, Sandman CA

Author

Lutfi Tugan Muftuler PhD Professor in the Neurosurgery department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Age Factors
Brain
Brain Mapping
Child
Child Development
Female
Humans
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Sex Factors