Quantification of the spatiotemporal microstructural organization of the human brain association, projection and commissural pathways across the lifespan using diffusion tensor tractography
Publication Date
5-1-2010
Journal
Brain Struct Funct. 2010 May; 214(4): 361–373.
Abstract
Using diffusion tensor tractography, we quantified the microstructural changes in the association, projection, and commissural compact white matter pathways of the human brain over the lifespan in a cohort of healthy right-handed children and adults aged 6-68 years. In both males and females, the diffusion tensor radial diffusivity of the bilateral arcuate fasciculus, inferior longitudinal fasciculus, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, uncinate fasciculus, corticospinal, somatosensory tracts, and the corpus callosum followed a U-curve with advancing age; fractional anisotropy in the same pathways followed an inverted U-curve. Our study provides useful baseline data for the interpretation of data collected from patients.
Keywords
Adolescent, Adult, Age Factors, Aged, Aging, Brain, Child, Cohort Studies, Corpus Callosum, Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Female, Functional Laterality, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Middle Aged, Nerve Fibers, Myelinated, Neural Pathways, Sex Factors, Young Adult