LONGITUDINAL ANALYSIS OF CEREBRAL CORTICAL DEVELOPMENT IN UTERO

这个子项目是许多研究子项目中利用 资源由NIH/NCRR资助的中心拨款提供。子项目和 调查员(PI)可能从NIH的另一个来源获得了主要资金， 并因此可以在其他清晰的条目中表示。列出的机构是 该中心不一定是调查人员的机构。 大脑皮层在妊娠期的异常发育会导致长期的认知损害，这些损害在出生几年后就可以从行为上发现。拟议中的实验的目标是发展MRI能力，以监测大脑皮层的发育，并检测子宫内的发育异常。我们将对正常日本猕猴妊娠后半期的胎儿大脑发育进行纵向MRI测量，并将我们的结果与接受母体高脂肪饮食的胎儿进行比较。最近描述的一种成像技术将被应用于获得高质量的宫内脑部图像。将使用MRI数据构建皮质表面模型，并使用扩散张量成像(DTI)技术监测与皮质发育相关的微结构变化。通过这些数据，我们的目标是1)检验显微结构变化和大脑皮质表面积扩大之间的假设关系，以及2)确定在经历高脂肪母体环境的胎儿中是否观察到假设的皮质发育变化。通过这个在非人类灵长类动物身上进行纵向测量的独特机会，我们将探索促炎症细胞因子表达在皮质发育中的潜在作用，并为促进皮质表面扩张与发育的生物学机制提供新的见解。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Abnormal development of the cerebral cortex during the gestational period results in long-term cognitive impairments that are behaviorally detectable years after birth. The goal of the proposed experiments is to develop MRI capabilities for monitoring cerebral cortical development, and detecting developmental abnormalities, in utero. We will perform longitudinal MRI measurements of fetal brain development throughout the second half of gestation in normal Japanese macaques, and compare our findings to fetuses subjected to a maternal high-fat diet. A recently-described imaging technique will be applied to obtain high-quality in utero brain images. Cortical surface models will be constructed using the MRI data, and microstructural changes associated with cortical development will be monitored using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) techniques. With this data, we aim to 1) test a hypothesized relationship between microstructural changes and cerebral cortical surface area expansion, and 2) determine whether hypothesized alterations in cortical development are observed in fetuses experiencing a high-fat maternal environment. Through this unique opportunity to perform longitudinal measurements in a non-human primate, we will explore the potential role of proinflammatory cytokine expression on cortical development and provide new insight into the biological mechanisms that give rise to cortical surface expansion with development.