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

项目摘要/摘要 这项建议的首要目标是通过绘制地图来提高我们对早期大脑发育的了解 前6个月脑网络拓扑和动力学的时间精确发育轨迹 生命，一个无与伦比的后天成长和变化的时期。描述大脑的发展轨迹 这一形成阶段的系统有可能提供对以下主要领域的开创性见解 科学探究，包括识别构成认知发展基础的大脑系统 功能，发现结构和功能网络专业化是如何产生的，以及 导致神经发育障碍的大脑网络。使用了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，拟议的项目将映射四个- 脑结构和功能网络在时间和空间上的精确发展轨迹 通常在出生和出生6个月之间发育婴儿(目标1)。这些连接将被制作成 向研究界公开提供。在目标2中，动态网络科学的最新进展将是 用于识别时变的社区结构(即，密集相互连接的大脑区域的模块) 婴儿大脑网络。最后，婴儿大脑网络社区动态的细微尺度变化将是 其特点是了解模块及其交互作用如何随开发时间变化(目标3)。 将对从以下位置收集的解剖、扩散和静息状态的功能MRI数据进行分析 在出生到6个月之间的非均匀、密集抽样时间点的婴儿。该项目的成功 将极大地促进我们对早期脑网络发育动态过程的理解 婴儿期是一个关键的、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.