Developmental Changes from Birth to 6 Years Through Structure-Function Coupling in the White Matte
Poster No:
972
Submission Type:
Abstract Submission
Authors:
Yajuan Zhang1, Juan Yue1, Ying Lin2, Yuxin Fu1, Yifan Jia1, Sixu Liu1, Linbo Qin1, Jungang Liu3, Han Zhang1,4
Institutions:
1School of Biomedical Engineering, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, Shanghai, 2Fujian Key Laboratory of Neonatal Diseases, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University (Xiamen Branch),, Xiamen, Fujian, 3Department of Radiology, Xiamen Children's Hospital, Children's Hospital of Fudan University at Xiam, Xiamen, Fujian, 4Shanghai Clinical Research and Trial Center, Shanghai, China
First Author:
Co-Author(s):
Ying Lin
Fujian Key Laboratory of Neonatal Diseases, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University (Xiamen Branch),
Xiamen, Fujian
Fujian Key Laboratory of Neonatal Diseases, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University (Xiamen Branch),
Xiamen, Fujian
Jungang Liu
Department of Radiology, Xiamen Children's Hospital, Children's Hospital of Fudan University at Xiam
Xiamen, Fujian
Department of Radiology, Xiamen Children's Hospital, Children's Hospital of Fudan University at Xiam
Xiamen, Fujian
Han Zhang
School of Biomedical Engineering, ShanghaiTech University|Shanghai Clinical Research and Trial Center
Shanghai, Shanghai|Shanghai, China
School of Biomedical Engineering, ShanghaiTech University|Shanghai Clinical Research and Trial Center
Shanghai, Shanghai|Shanghai, China
Introduction:
Research on early brain development has highlighted infancy and early childhood as critical periods marked by substantial changes in both brain structure and function [1]. The integrity of white matter (WM) microstructure is essential for efficient neural communication, supporting functional interactions at different scales [2]. Most existing research on WM microstructure development has focused on diffusion MRI-based tractography derived from diffusion tensor (DT), largely neglecting its functional relevance. Recent evidence, however, indicates that the WM also exhibits functional activity with physiological relevance [3]. To better capture the functional activity within WM, researchers have proposed the functional correlation tensor (FCT) approach, which quantifies the magnitude and orientation of functional activation in the WM based on fMRI [4]. Therefore, this study integrates the FCT and DT by accounting for local functional anisotropy and microstructural orientations to investigate the developmental trajectories of WM microstructural functional activity in infants aged 0 to 6 years.
Methods:
The infant subjects in this study are from the China Baby Connectome Project (CBCP), an ongoing large-scale, multicenter, longitudinal cohort. A total of 199 scans from 185 subjects (aged from 0 month to 6 years) with anatomical T1-weighted images (T1w), fMRI and diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI) acquired by 3.0T scanners (uMR890, United Imaging) were included. The imaging parameters are as follows: T1w (TR/TE=6.5/2.3ms, slice thickness=0.8 mm, slice number= 208), fMRI (TR/TE=800/37ms, slices number=72, slice thickness =1.8 mm, 450 volumes), and DWI (TR/TE=3280/77.5ms, slices number=92, slice thickness=1.5 mm, three b-value shells 500, 1000, 3000 s/mm² with 9, 12, and 48 directions). After preprocessing, voxel-wised FCT [4, 5] and DT were constructed (Fig 1). Structure-function coupling in WM was evaluated by the consistency between FCT and DT using the tensor difference equation modified from [6]. FCT-DT consistency map were first nonlinearly registration to age-specific template, and then linear registration to the 6-month template. Subsequently, a GAMM was performed to examine both linear and nonlinear relationships between variables and age.
Results:
As showed in Fig 2, significant age-related changes in FCT-DT coupling from birth to 6 years of age were observed primarily in the bilateral anterior corona radiata (ACR), superior corona radiata (SCR), posterior corona radiata (PCR), superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), anterior limb of internal capsule (AIC), Cingulum (CGC), and external capsule (EC) (Fig 2A). To further illustrate different patterns by sex of developmental trajectories, we grouped the brain regions with significant FCT-DT coupling changes into eight clusters and used GAMMs to evaluate the age effects by sex (Fig 2B-K). Except for Cluster 4, all clusters exhibited an initial increase in FCT-DT consistency followed by relative stability in both males and females (P < 0.001). Furthermore, significant interactions between age and sex were identified in Clusters 1, 2, 3, 5, and 8 (P < 0.05/8 = 0.00625, Bonferroni correction).
Conclusions:
This study utilizes FCT-DT coupling to estimate WM structure-function coupling in infants, revealing the early maturation process of white matter functional activity. We observed significant age-related changes in FCT-DT consistency from birth to 6 years of age, primarily in key white matter regions, which may reflect the formation of essential functional networks involved in executive functions, motor control, emotional regulation, and memory integration. Notably, distinct developmental trajectories were observed, influenced by sex, underscoring the importance of considering sex-specific factors in understanding the maturation of structure-function coupling. Our findings enhance the understanding of the functional development of white matter microstructure during early life and its neurobiological underpinnings.
Lifespan Development:
Early life, Adolescence, Aging 1
Novel Imaging Acquisition Methods:
BOLD fMRI
Diffusion MRI 2
Multi-Modal Imaging
Physiology, Metabolism and Neurotransmission:
Neurophysiology of Imaging Signals
Keywords:
Computational Neuroscience
Development
FUNCTIONAL MRI
Other - infont, FCT-DT coupling
1|2Indicates the priority used for review
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This work is partially supported by the STI 2030—Major Project (2022ZD0209000), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (GZC20231673), Shanghai Pilot Program for Basic Research—Chinese Academy of Science, Shanghai Branch (JCYJ-SHFY-2022-014), Open Research Fund Program of National Innovation Center for Advanced Medical Devices (NMED2021ZD-01-001), Shenzhen Science and Technology Program (No. KCXFZ20211020163408012), and Shanghai Pujiang Program (No. 21PJ1421400).
References
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4. Ding, Z., et al., Spatio-temporal correlation tensors reveal functional structure in human brain. PLoS One, 2013. 8(12): p. e82107.
5. Ding, Z., et al., Visualizing functional pathways in the human brain using correlation tensors and magnetic resonance imaging. Magn Reson Imaging, 2016. 34(1): p. 8-17.
6. Zhao, J., et al., Structure-function coupling in white matter uncovers the abnormal brain connectivity in Schizophrenia. Transl Psychiatry, 2023. 13(1): p. 214.