Third-trimester in utero fetal brain diffusion tensor imaging fiber tractography: a prospective longitudinal characterization of normal white matter tract development

Hooker, Jeffrey D.; Khan, Majid; Farkas, Amy; Lirette, Seth T.; Joyner, David; Gordy, David P.; Storrs, Judd; Roda, Manohar; Bofill, James A.; Smith, Andrew D.; James, J.R.

doi:10.1007/s00247-020-04639-8

Cited by 15 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…This myelination process causes significant reduction in RD, balanced by a slower decrease in AD due to the disappearance of cytoplasmic arborization. This evolution of DTI values has also been reported by other studies 37–43 .…”

Section: Diffusion Tensor Imaging Of Normal Brain Developmentsupporting

confidence: 90%

Diffusion tensor imaging of fetal brain: principles, potential and limitations of promising technique

Corroënne

Arthuis

Kasprian

et al. 2022

Ultrasound in Obstet & Gyne

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Human brain development is a complex process that begins in the third week of gestation. During early development, the fetal brain undergoes dynamic morphological changes. These changes result from events such as neurogenesis, neuronal migration, synapse formation, axonal growth and myelination. Disruption of any of these processes is thought to be responsible for a wide array of different pathologies. Recent advances in magnetic resonance imaging, especially diffusion‐weighted imaging and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), have enabled characterization and evaluation of brain development in utero. In this review, aimed at practitioners involved in fetal medicine and high‐risk pregnancies, we provide a comprehensive overview of fetal DTI studies focusing on characterization of early normal brain development as well as evaluation of brain pathology in utero. We also discuss the reliability and limitations of fetal brain DTI. © 2022 International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

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Section: Diffusion Tensor Imaging Of Normal Brain Developmentsupporting

confidence: 90%

Diffusion tensor imaging of fetal brain: principles, potential and limitations of promising technique

Corroënne

Arthuis

Kasprian

et al. 2022

Ultrasound in Obstet & Gyne

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“…During the third trimester of pregnancy, the vulnerability of white matter damage can be significant as the optic radiations may be more sensitive to insult. This is not infrequently evidenced by unilateral periventricular hemorrhagic infarcts as well as by bilateral ischemic lesions [48,49] It is during the third trimester of pregnancy that we note the significant degree of plasticity in the development of thalamocortical afferents, as it is that during this period, with relevant axonal guidance, there still exists migration of afferents from the sub-to the cortical plate [50].…”

Section: Neuroplastic Changes In the Visual System After Early Insultmentioning

confidence: 70%

Cortical Visual Impairment in Childhood: ‘Blindsight’ and the Sprague Effect Revisited

2021

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The paper discusses and provides support for diverse processes of brain plasticity in visual function after damage in infancy and childhood in comparison with injury that occurs in the adult brain. We provide support and description of neuroplastic mechanisms in childhood that do not seemingly exist in the same way in the adult brain. Examples include the ability to foster the development of thalamocortical connectivities that can circumvent the lesion and reach their cortical destination in the occipital cortex as the developing brain is more efficient in building new connections. Supporting this claim is the fact that in those with central visual field defects we can note that the extrastriatal visual connectivities are greater when a lesion occurs earlier in life as opposed to in the neurologically mature adult. The result is a significantly more optimized system of visual and spatial exploration within the ‘blind’ field of view. The discussion is provided within the context of “blindsight” and the “Sprague Effect”.

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“…MRI-Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) studies focusing on the end of the second trimester, reported that for all tracts, the volume and fractional anisotropy (FA) increased, and the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) decreased with GA, though these associations were not statistically significant in all tracts [60,64]. The development of network connectivity, which starts in early gestation and accelerates in mid-gestation, continues over the third trimester and into the postnatal period, as shown by MRI studies (e.g., [61]).…”

Section: Mid-to Late-gestationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of the Ontogenetic Self-Regulation Clock

Ferber

Weller

Ben-Shachar

et al. 2022

IJMS

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To date, there is no overarching proposition for the ontogenetic-neurobiological basis of self-regulation. This paper suggests that the balanced self-regulatory reaction of the fetus, newborn and infant is based on a complex mechanism starting from early brainstem development and continuing to progressive control of the cortex over the brainstem. It is suggested that this balance occurs through the synchronous reactivity between the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems, both which originate from the brainstem. The paper presents an evidence-based approach in which molecular excitation-inhibition balance, interchanges between excitatory and inhibitory roles of neurotransmitters as well as cardiovascular and white matter development across gestational ages, are shown to create sympathetic-parasympathetic synchrony, including the postnatal development of electroencephalogram waves and vagal tone. These occur in developmental milestones detectable in the same time windows (sensitive periods of development) within a convergent systematic progress. This ontogenetic stepwise process is termed “the self-regulation clock” and suggest that this clock is located in the largest connection between the brainstem and the cortex, the corticospinal tract. This novel evidence-based new theory paves the way towards more accurate hypotheses and complex studies of self-regulation and its biological basis, as well as pointing to time windows for interventions in preterm infants. The paper also describes the developing indirect signaling between the suprachiasmatic nucleus and the corticospinal tract. Finally, the paper proposes novel hypotheses for molecular, structural and functional investigation of the “clock” circuitry, including its associations with other biological clocks. This complex circuitry is suggested to be responsible for the developing self-regulatory functions and their neurobehavioral correlates.

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Third-trimester in utero fetal brain diffusion tensor imaging fiber tractography: a prospective longitudinal characterization of normal white matter tract development

Cited by 15 publications

References 21 publications

Diffusion tensor imaging of fetal brain: principles, potential and limitations of promising technique

Diffusion tensor imaging of fetal brain: principles, potential and limitations of promising technique

Cortical Visual Impairment in Childhood: ‘Blindsight’ and the Sprague Effect Revisited

Development of the Ontogenetic Self-Regulation Clock

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