Brain Connectivity during Early Development: Bridging Anatomical and Functional Data
Lead Research Organisation:
Imperial College London
Department Name: Div of Investigative Science
Abstract
Recent reports show that the rate of pre-term births is a growing public health problem and it has significant consequences for both families and society. Babies born before 32 weeks have the highest risk for death and several developmental disorders. Infants born between 32 to 36 weeks are still at higher risk for poor health outcomes compared to those born full term. Improvements in the treatment of pre-term infants in Neonatal Intensive Care Units have helped greatly to improve their survival. However, these infants are vulnerable to mental and cognitive impairment that are sometimes only diagnosed in childhood.
This study is looks into modelling the growth and variability of brain connectivity in pre-term infants from 23 to 40 weeks of gestational age. Connectional complexity accounts for most of brain stability and efficiency. However, there are no systematic work on what a typical connectivity map is and how differences in atypical development are linked to it. This project aims to exploit latest methodological and imaging advances to create a framework that describes and quantifies connectivity changes during development. The research outcomes will have an impact on a number of disciplines, including medicine, neuroscience, psychology and genetics.
This study is looks into modelling the growth and variability of brain connectivity in pre-term infants from 23 to 40 weeks of gestational age. Connectional complexity accounts for most of brain stability and efficiency. However, there are no systematic work on what a typical connectivity map is and how differences in atypical development are linked to it. This project aims to exploit latest methodological and imaging advances to create a framework that describes and quantifies connectivity changes during development. The research outcomes will have an impact on a number of disciplines, including medicine, neuroscience, psychology and genetics.
Technical Summary
There are several indications that a major factor influencing the brain‘s computational power and stability is its connectional complexity. Recently, it has been suggested that consciousness depends critically on the brain‘s ability to integrate information, and subsequently on connectivity among different thalamo-cortical areas. The brain operates based on both functional specialization/ segregation and functional integration/connectivity. Functional specialization suggests that a particular part of the cortex is specialized in some aspects of cognitive/motor processing. This functional localization implies a segregation of neurons‘ activities and interactions between different brain areas. It has been emphasized that it is not meaningful to investigate functional specialization without considering brain connectivity. fMRI has been used to define the functional connectivity of the brain, where the synchrony of different brain regions allows an assessment of the network at a functional level. Although, these results infer anatomical connectivity, fMRI is based only on functional information. Studies of anatomical neuronal connectivity are tremendously important for interpreting fMRI data and establishing how activated foci are linked together through networks. This is because the relationship between functional connectivity and its underlying neural substrate is obscure.
This project suggests using Diffusion Tensor Magnetic Resonance Imaging (DT-MRI/DTI) to verify functional connections at anatomical macroscopic scale and use as an approach the specific context of the developing brain. The adopted hypothesis is that anatomical and functional connectivity in the developing brain can be observed using Diffusion Tensor MRI (DT-MRI) and null/no stimulus functional MRI (fMRI), and that a system level description can be developed which will show definable and plausible alterations with the growth in brain structure from 23 to 40 weeks gestational age. This population is particularly valuable to the study because of several reasons: (a) The rapid structural and functional growth over this period gives more degrees of freedom to detect changes. (b) The relative simplicity of the brain organisation and function allows easier detection of functionally alike brain areas in infants than adults.
The rules of development encoded in the human genome specify the general features of the neural network organization and the fine details are arranged through interactions between the constituent parts. During gestation, the local interactions between neurons reveal the mechanisms of the system‘s self-organization, since external influences act only as initial constraints. This study offers an opportunity to shed light on these developmental processes and improve our understanding of how the environment impair brain function in pre-term infants.
This project suggests using Diffusion Tensor Magnetic Resonance Imaging (DT-MRI/DTI) to verify functional connections at anatomical macroscopic scale and use as an approach the specific context of the developing brain. The adopted hypothesis is that anatomical and functional connectivity in the developing brain can be observed using Diffusion Tensor MRI (DT-MRI) and null/no stimulus functional MRI (fMRI), and that a system level description can be developed which will show definable and plausible alterations with the growth in brain structure from 23 to 40 weeks gestational age. This population is particularly valuable to the study because of several reasons: (a) The rapid structural and functional growth over this period gives more degrees of freedom to detect changes. (b) The relative simplicity of the brain organisation and function allows easier detection of functionally alike brain areas in infants than adults.
The rules of development encoded in the human genome specify the general features of the neural network organization and the fine details are arranged through interactions between the constituent parts. During gestation, the local interactions between neurons reveal the mechanisms of the system‘s self-organization, since external influences act only as initial constraints. This study offers an opportunity to shed light on these developmental processes and improve our understanding of how the environment impair brain function in pre-term infants.
