Paediatric population neuroimaging and the Generation R Study: the second wave

Abstract

Paediatric population neuroimaging is an emerging field that falls at the intersection between developmental neuroscience and epidemiology. A key feature of population neuroimaging studies involves large-scale recruitment that is representative of the general population. One successful approach for population neuroimaging is to embed neuroimaging studies within large epidemiological cohorts. The Generation R Study is a large, prospective population-based birth-cohort in which nearly 10,000 pregnant mothers were recruited between 2002 and 2006 with repeated measurements in the children and their parents over time. Magnetic resonance imaging was included in 2009 with the scanning of 1070 6-to-9-year-old children. The second neuroimaging wave was initiated in April 2013 with a total of 4245 visiting the MRI suite and 4087 9-to-11-year-old children being scanned. The sequences included high-resolution structural MRI, 35-direction diffusion weighted imaging, and a 6 min and 2 s resting-state functional MRI scan. The goal of this paper is to provide an overview of the imaging protocol and the overlap between the neuroimaging data and metadata. We conclude by providing a brief overview of results from our first wave of neuroimaging, which highlights a diverse array of questions that can be addressed by merging the fields of developmental neuroscience and epidemiology.

Keywords: Autism spectrum disorders; Behaviour; Brain development; Cognitive development; Developmental neuroscience; Neurodevelopment; Neuroimaging.

Fig. 1

Flowchart of inclusion for the second neuroimaging wave of the Generation R Study

Fig. 2

A time-line overview of the major behavioural, cognitive, and neuroimaging data collected within the Generation R Study

Fig. 3

Pie charts reflecting differences in the demographic and pregnancy exposures for the Total Generation R Cohort and for the neuroimaging waves 1 and 2

Fig. 4

Blueprint of the MRI Suite that was designed to both Optimize Participant Flow and Adhere to the Safety Requirements Set Forth by the American College of Radiology

Fig. 5

a Systematic Quality Assessment Rating Scale for Structural MRI Scans. b Distribution of 500 scans rated using the Systematic Quality Assessment Rating Scale for Structural MRI Scans

Fig. 6

Examples of different quality of structural neuroimaging data using the Systematic Quality Assessment Rating Scale for Structural MRI: a crystal clear foliation in the cerebellum, b good differentiation in the grey matter/white matter contrast in the cerebellar folia, c some blurring of the grey matter/white matter contrast in the cerebellar folia, d poor or no differentiation of the grey matter/white matter contrast in the cerebellar folia, e no axial waves and good grey matter/white matter contrast, f significant waves anterior, g large waves or ringing, h minor waves posterior, i significant blurring of grey matter/white matter contrast, j loss of grey matter/white matter contrast, (k) good differentiation of caudate and putamen, (l) minor blurring of the caudate and putamen (m) loss of grey matter/white matter margins of the caudate and putamen rendering it untraceable

Fig. 7

The Right Parietal-Prefrontal Brain Network in 6-to-9 year-old children defined within the Generation R Study. This network showed greater connectivity associated with higher non-verbal IQ