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Shifts in myeloarchitecture characterise adolescent development of cortical gradients.

Published version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Bethlehem, Richard Ai  ORCID logo  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0714-0685
Wagstyl, Konrad 
Romero-Garcia, Rafael 

Abstract

We studied an accelerated longitudinal cohort of adolescents and young adults (n = 234, two time points) to investigate dynamic reconfigurations in myeloarchitecture. Intracortical profiles were generated using magnetization transfer (MT) data, a myelin-sensitive magnetic resonance imaging contrast. Mixed-effect models of depth specific intracortical profiles demonstrated two separate processes i) overall increases in MT, and ii) flattening of the MT profile related to enhanced signal in mid-to-deeper layers, especially in heteromodal and unimodal association cortices. This development was independent of morphological changes. Enhanced MT in mid-to-deeper layers was found to spatially co-localise specifically with gene expression markers of oligodendrocytes. Interregional covariance analysis revealed that these intracortical changes contributed to a gradual differentiation of higher-order from lower-order systems. Depth-dependent trajectories of intracortical myeloarchitectural development contribute to the maturation of structural hierarchies in the human neocortex, providing a model for adolescent development that bridges microstructural and macroscopic scales of brain organisation.

Description

Funder: MQ: Transforming Mental Health; Grant(s): MQF17/24

Keywords

Human, Microstructure, MRI, Neuroscience, Hierarchy, Gradients, Adolescence, developmental biology, Transcriptomics

Journal Title

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

2050-084X

Volume Title

Publisher

Sponsorship
Wellcome Trust (095844/Z/11/Z)
Fonds de Recherche du Québec - Santé (Chercheur Boursier Junior 1)
Sick Kids Foundation (NI17-039)
NIH HHS (Oxford-Cambridge Scholars' Program)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/N510129/1)
National Institute for Health Research (Senior Investigator Award)
CIHR (FDN-154298)
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (Discovery-1304413)
Medical Research Council (MR/K020706/1)