Computational Morphometry of the Developing Cortex

早产是儿童神经精神障碍的主要原因，并导致重大的长期临床、教育和社会问题。在工业化国家，早产和低出生体重的发生率在过去十年中有所增加，而早产在失业、受教育程度低和政治上被剥夺公民权的人群中更为普遍。损害的负担是相当大的：在25周或更短出生的所有幸存婴儿中，有一半在30个月大时表现出神经发育障碍，这些问题会持续到以后的生活。即使在不太成熟的婴儿中，也有三分之一以上的婴儿出现神经认知和行为缺陷，包括注意力缺陷多动障碍、学习障碍和行为障碍，这可能对个人及其家庭造成毁灭性后果。该项目的目的是开发必要的计算工具，以确定在妊娠晚期和随后的新生儿时期皮质发育的定量指标。为此，我们将开发一个人类大脑皮层的时空模型，从大脑发育的早期阶段一直到出生。这将使我们能够检测子宫内和子宫外皮层发育的差异，并将皮层发育与神经认知结果数据联系起来。这个项目是计算机科学家、物理学家和临床医生之间的合作，这项研究将使人们对人类大脑发育的早期阶段有更深入的了解。它还将为早产儿弱势群体的治疗干预提供指标和生物标志物。

Preterm birth is a major cause of neuropsychiatric impairment in childhood and leads to significant long-term clinical, educational and social problems. The incidence of preterm birth and low birth weight has increased over the last decade in industrialised countries, and preterm delivery has a higher prevalence among the unemployed, poorly educated and the politically disenfranchised. The burden of impairment is considerable: half of all surviving infants born at 25 weeks or less show neurodevelopmental impairment at 30 months of age, and these problems persist into later life. Even among less immature infants over one third develop neurocognitive and behavioural deficits, including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, learning disability and behavioural disorders which can have devastating consequences for the individuals and their families.The purpose of this project is to develop the computational tools necessary to determine quantitative metrics of cortical development during the third trimester of pregnancy and in the subsequent neonatal period. For this purpose we will develop a spatio-temporal model of the human cerebral cortex during the early phase of brain development up to and including birth. This will enable us to detect differences in cortical development in-utero and ex-utero and to correlate cortical development with neuro-cognitive outcome data. This project is a collaboration between computer scientists, physicists and clinicians, and the research will lead a deeper understanding of the early phase of human brain development. It will also provide metrics and biomarkers for therapeutic interventions in the vulnerable population of infants born prematurely.