Brain development in childhood

Abstract

Although human brain development continues throughout childhood and adolescence, it is a non-linear process both structurally and functionally. Here we review studies of brain development in healthy children from the viewpoint of structure and the perfusion of gray and white matter. Gray matter volume increases and then decreases with age, with the developmental time of the peak volume differing among brain regions in the first and second decades of life. On the other hand, white matter volume increase is mostly linear during those periods. As regards fractional anisotropy, most regions show an exponential trajectory with aging. In addition, cerebral blood flow and gray matter volume are proportional at similar developmental ages. Moreover, we show that several lifestyle choices, such as sleeping habits and breakfast staple, affect gray matter volume in healthy children. There are a number of uninvestigated important issues that require future study.

Keywords: Arterial spin labeling.; Children; Development; Diffusion tensor imaging; Gray matter; Magnetic resonance imaging; Voxel-based morphometry; White matter.

Fig. (1)

Representative sets of structural images in a 5.8-year-old female, a 9.6-year-old male, and a 13.5-year old male.

Fig. (2)

Representative sets of FA map in a 5.8-year-old female, a 9.6-year-old male, and a 13.5-year old male.

Fig. (3)

Representative sets of ASL images in a 5.8-year-old female, a 9.6-year-old female, and a 13.5-year old female (adopted from [61]).