Brain structure and function in infants

项目概要/摘要 虽然已经提出了关于结构性脑成熟的作用的假设， 神经功能变化的决定因素，特定的形态生理相关性及其 发展轨迹尚未得到实验验证。我们以前的多式联运 对幼儿和青少年的脑成像研究提供了证据， 发育涉及直接的大脑结构-功能机制关系。鉴于 全头婴儿MEG和高分辨率多波段扩散和结构MRI现在是 我们正处于发育神经生物学和成像史上的一个重要时期， 理想地定位于开始开发、测试和改进大脑结构-功能模型 关系除了了解大脑结构-功能关联，一个主要目标是 识别婴儿大脑测量，最好地预测未来的大脑功能（和行为）， 从而为将来的研究鉴定预后性脑生物标志物。 以上是通过密集纵向设计（12个月内5个点）和 使用被动MEG任务，可以评估婴儿的大脑活动。初级感觉 通过初级感觉区域（而不是额叶）的成熟， 婴儿第一次体验世界。所评估的神经信号相关性被选择为 这些测量表明婴儿如何快速有效地编码感官信息， 我们的儿童和青少年研究表明，（1）这些神经测量随着 年龄的函数，（2）潜在的神经过程在个体中成熟得更慢， 神经发育障碍，和（3）青少年自闭症谱系障碍（ASD） 这些神经测量预测功能结果。检查大脑的结构和功能， 初级听觉、躯体感觉和视觉皮层区域（招募了115名婴儿），我们将展示 基本感觉编码过程的发展在结构上受到 机制特征：（1）与年龄相关的白质成熟增加， 信号传播，以及（2）年龄相关的灰质皮质厚度增加， 更活跃的神经网络还将获得行为措施，以允许探索 最敏感的大脑测量和行为之间的联系。我们希望通过一个 通过纵向研究，我们可以确定预测未来大脑功能的大脑生物标志物， 这些生物标志物在未来的研究中，以确定儿童在神经发育障碍的风险 以及确定治疗干预的路线，然后最终使用生物标志物， 测量对治疗的反应

Project Summary/Abstract Although hypotheses have been advanced concerning the role of structural brain maturation as determinants of changes in neural function, specific morphophysiologic correlations and their developmental trajectories have not been experimentally validated. Our previous multimodal brain imaging studies examining young children and adolescents provide evidence that brain development involves straightforward brain structure-function mechanistic relations. Given that whole-head infant MEG and high-resolution multi-band diffusion and structural MRI are now available, we are at an important time in the history of developmental neurobiology and imaging, ideally positioned to begin developing, testing, and refining models of brain structure-function relations. In addition to understanding brain structure-function associations, a primary goal is the identification of infant brain measures that best predict future brain function (and behavior) and thus the identification of prognostic brain biomarkers for future studies. The above is accomplished via a dense longitudinal design (5 points over 12months) and the use of passive MEG tasks that allow assessment of brain activity in infants. Primary sensory areas are targeted as it is through the maturation of primary sensory regions (not frontal lobes) that infants first experience the world. The neural signal correlates assessed are selected as these measures indicate how rapidly and efficiently infants encode sensory information, and with our child and adolescent studies demonstrating that (1) these neural measures change as a function of age, (2) underlying neural processes mature more slowly in individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders, and (3) in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) these neural measures predict functional outcome. Examining brain structure and function in primary auditory, somatosensory, and visual cortical areas (115 infants recruited), we will show that development of fundamental sensory encoding processes is structurally constrained by mechanistic features: (1) age-related increases in white-matter maturation allowing faster neural signal propagation, and (2) age-related increases in gray-matter cortical thickness providing more active neural networks. Behavioral measures will also be obtained to allow exploration of associations between the most sensitive brain measures and behavior. It is our hope that via a longitudinal study we can identify brain biomarkers that predict future brain function, with use of these biomarkers in future studies to identify children at risk for neurodevelopmental disorders as well as to identify lines of therapeutic intervention and then finally to use the biomarkers to measure response to therapy.