Mapping the Infant Brain Developmental Connectome: Temporally Precise Growth Trajectories of Changing Infant Brain Topology

项目总结/摘要 这项提议的首要目标是通过绘制大脑发育图来推进我们对早期大脑发育的认识。 前6个月内大脑网络拓扑结构和动力学的时间精确发展轨迹 这是一段无与伦比的产后成长和变化的时期。描述大脑的发展轨迹 系统在这个形成时期有潜力提供突破性的见解， 科学探究，包括识别认知发展的大脑系统 功能，发现结构和功能网络专业化是如何产生的，以及识别 导致神经发育障碍的大脑网络。采用一种新型的非均匀纵向 抽样设计和先进的非参数曲线拟合技术，拟议项目将绘制四个- 三维，时间上准确的发展轨迹的大脑结构和功能网络， 通常是在出生到6个月之间发育的婴儿（目标1）。这些连接体会被制造出来 向研究界公开。在目标2中，动态网络科学的最新进展将是 应用于识别社区结构（即，密集互连的大脑区域的模块）在时间变化中 婴儿大脑网络最后，婴儿大脑网络的社区动态的精细尺度变化将是 其特征在于了解模块及其相互作用如何随着发展时间而变化（目标3）。 将对收集的解剖、弥散和静息状态功能MRI数据进行分析， 婴儿在出生至6个月之间的非统一、密集采样时间点。项目的成功 将大大推进我们对早期大脑网络发育动态过程的理解， 婴儿期，一个关键但相对未知的发展时期。

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The overarching goal of this proposal is to advance our knowledge of early brain development by mapping temporally precise developmental trajectories of brain network topology and dynamics during the first 6 months of life, a period of unparalleled postnatal growth and change. Describing the developmental trajectory of brain systems during this formative period has the potential to provide groundbreaking insights into major areas of scientific inquiry, including the identification of brain systems that underlie the development of cognitive functions, the discovery of how structural and functional network specializations arise, and the identification of brain networks that contribute to neurodevelopmental disability. Using a novel non-uniform longitudinal sampling design and advanced non-parametric curve fitting techniques, the proposed project will map four- dimensional, temporally accurate developmental trajectories of brain structural and functional networks in typically developing infants between birth and the 6th month of life (Aim 1). These connectomes will be made publicly available to the research community. In Aim 2, the latest advances in dynamic network science will be applied to identify community structure (i.e., modules of densely inter-connected brain regions) in time-varying infant brain networks. Finally, fine scale changes in the community dynamics of infant brain networks will be characterized to understand how modules and their interactions change over developmental time (Aim 3). Analyses will be conducted on anatomical, diffusion, and resting-state functional MRI data collected from infants at non-uniform, densely sampled time points between birth and 6 months. The success of the project will significantly advance our understanding of the dynamic processes of brain network development in early infancy, a pivotal, and yet relatively uncharted, period of development.