Normative spatiotemporal fetal brain maturation with satisfactory development at 2 years

Abstract

Maturation of the human fetal brain should follow precisely scheduled structural growth and folding of the cerebral cortex for optimal postnatal function1. We present a normative digital atlas of fetal brain maturation based on a prospective international cohort of healthy pregnant women2, selected using World Health Organization recommendations for growth standards3. Their fetuses were accurately dated in the first trimester, with satisfactory growth and neurodevelopment from early pregnancy to 2 years of age4,5. The atlas was produced using 1,059 optimal quality, three-dimensional ultrasound brain volumes from 899 of the fetuses and an automated analysis pipeline6–8. The atlas corresponds structurally to published magnetic resonance images9, but with finer anatomical details in deep grey matter. The between-study site variability represented less than 8.0% of the total variance of all brain measures, supporting pooling data from the eight study sites to produce patterns of normative maturation. We have thereby generated an average representation of each cerebral hemisphere between 14 and 31 weeks’ gestation with quantification of intracranial volume variability and growth patterns. Emergent asymmetries were detectable from as early as 14 weeks, with peak asymmetries in regions associated with language development and functional lateralization between 20 and 26 weeks’ gestation. These patterns were validated in 1,487 three-dimensional brain volumes from 1,295 different fetuses in the same cohort. We provide a unique spatiotemporal benchmark of fetal brain maturation from a large cohort with normative postnatal growth and neurodevelopment.

Large‐scale analysis of structural brain asymmetries during neurodevelopment: Associations with age and sex in 4265 children and adolescents

“…Cerebral asymmetries may therefore reflect a fundamental organizational pattern of the brain rather than a result of brain development and regional specialization. This view might be supported by reports of cerebral asymmetries as early as the first and second trimester of pregnancy (Abu‐Rustum et al, 2013 ; Corballis, 2013 ; de Kovel et al, 2017 ; Namburete et al, 2023 ; Steger et al, 2023 ; Vasung et al, 2020 ) and by findings of asymmetries in gene activation (de Kovel et al, 2017 ; Francks, 2015 ; Karlebach & Francks, 2015 ; Ocklenburg et al, 2017 ). In addition, genes associated with variation in adult brain asymmetry, as identified in large‐scale genome‐wide association analyses, tend to be most active in the embryonic and fetal brain (Sha, Schijven, et al, 2021 ).…”

“…So, it remains unclear when cerebral asymmetries arise and how they develop during childhood and adolescence. There is some evidence that cerebral asymmetries already exist in newborns (de Vareilles et al, 2022 ; Ge et al, 2022 ; Gilmore et al, 2007 ; Lehtola et al, 2019 ; Li et al, 2014 ; Li et al, 2015 ; Namburete et al, 2023 ; Steger et al, 2023 ) and even in the fetal brain (Abu‐Rustum et al, 2013 ; Corballis, 2013 ; de Kovel et al, 2017 ; Namburete et al, 2023 ; Steger et al, 2023 ; Vasung et al, 2020 ). However, to date there is limited research investigating brain asymmetries and their age‐related associations during childhood and adolescence.…”

Bred for affection: The canine anterior ectosylvian gyrus responds selectively to social reinforcement

“…It has a unique pattern of connectivity, distinct from the auditory areas behind it 30 . In humans, the area immediately rostral to the primary auditory cortex, from an embyrological perspective, would lie at the transitional zone between the superior temporal gyrus and the supramarginal gyrus 31,32 (the temporoparietal junction, Extended Data Fig. 4).…”

“…This hub of visual and auditory multisensory integration for social reinforcement that we find in this article in the anterior ectosylvian gyrus of the canine ( orange shading ) lies immediately rostral to the canine primary auditory cortex homolog 27,28 . In humans, the area immediately rostral to the primary auditory cortex, from an embyrological perspective, would lie at the transitional zone between the superior temporal gyrus and the supramarginal gyrus 31 (temporoparietal junction - TPJ, orange shading ).…”