scholarly journals Development and aging of cortical thickness correspond to genetic organization patterns

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (50) ◽  
pp. 15462-15467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anders M. Fjell ◽  
Håkon Grydeland ◽  
Stine K. Krogsrud ◽  
Inge Amlien ◽  
Darius A. Rohani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cerebral Cortex ◽  
Cortical Thickness ◽  
Genetic Relationships ◽  
Adult Age ◽  
Genetic Organization ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Development And Aging ◽  
Genetic Clustering ◽  
Cortical Regions ◽  
Adult Twins

There is a growing realization that early life influences have lasting impact on brain function and structure. Recent research has demonstrated that genetic relationships in adults can be used to parcellate the cortex into regions of maximal shared genetic influence, and a major hypothesis is that genetically programmed neurodevelopmental events cause a lasting impact on the organization of the cerebral cortex observable decades later. Here we tested how developmental and lifespan changes in cortical thickness fit the underlying genetic organizational principles of cortical thickness in a longitudinal sample of 974 participants between 4.1 and 88.5 y of age with a total of 1,633 scans, including 773 scans from children below 12 y. Genetic clustering of cortical thickness was based on an independent dataset of 406 adult twins. Developmental and adult age-related changes in cortical thickness followed closely the genetic organization of the cerebral cortex, with change rates varying as a function of genetic similarity between regions. Cortical regions with overlapping genetic architecture showed correlated developmental and adult age change trajectories and vice versa for regions with low genetic overlap. Thus, effects of genes on regional variations in cortical thickness in middle age can be traced to regional differences in neurodevelopmental change rates and extrapolated to further adult aging-related cortical thinning. This finding suggests that genetic factors contribute to cortical changes through life and calls for a lifespan perspective in research aimed at identifying the genetic and environmental determinants of cortical development and aging.

scholarly journals Cytoarchitectonic similarity is a wiring principle of the human connectome

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandros Goulas ◽  
René Werner ◽  
Sarah F Beul ◽  
Dennis Säring ◽  
Martijn van den Heuvel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cerebral Cortex ◽  
Cortical Thickness ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Human Cerebral Cortex ◽  
Wiring Diagram ◽  
Classic Work ◽  
Human Connectome Project ◽  
Fundamental Challenge ◽  
Cortical Regions

AbstractUnderstanding the wiring diagram of the human cerebral cortex is a fundamental challenge in neuroscience. Elemental aspects of its organization remain elusive. Here we examine which structural traits of cortical regions, particularly their cytoarchitecture and thickness, relate to the existence and strength of inter-regional connections. We use the architecture data from the classic work of von Economo and Koskinas and state-of-the-art diffusion-based connectivity data from the Human Connectome Project. Our results reveal a prominent role of the cytoarchitectonic similarity of supragranular layers for predicting the existence and strength of connections. In contrast, cortical thickness similarity was not related to the existence or strength of connections. These results are in line with findings for non-human mammalian cerebral cortices, suggesting overarching wiring principles of the mammalian cerebral cortex. The results invite hypotheses about evolutionary conserved neurobiological mechanisms that give rise to the relation of cytoarchitecture and connectivity in the human cerebral cortex.

scholarly journals Quantitative Assessment of the Intracranial Vasculature of Infants and Adults Using iCafe (Intracranial Artery Feature Extraction)

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Chen ◽  
Dennis W. W. Shaw ◽  
Stephen R. Dager ◽  
Neva M. Corrigan ◽  
Baocheng Chu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Brain Development ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Vascular Diseases ◽  
Intracranial Artery ◽  
Adult Age ◽  
Tof Mra ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Healthy Infants ◽  
Development And Aging ◽  
Intracranial Vasculature

Comprehensive quantification of intracranial artery features may help to assess and understand regional variations of blood supply during early brain development and aging. We analyzed vasculature features of 27 healthy infants during natural sleep, 13 infants at 7-months (7.3 ± 1.0 month), and 14 infants at 12-months (11.7 ± 0.4 month), and 13 older healthy, awake adults (62.8 ± 8.7 years) to investigate age-related vascular differences as a preliminary study of vascular changes associated with brain development. 3D time-of-flight (TOF) magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) acquisitions were processed in iCafe, a technique to quantify arterial features (http://icafe.clatfd.cn), to characterize intracranial vasculature. Overall, adult subjects were found to have increased ACA length, tortuosity, and vasculature density compared to both 7-month-old and 12-month-old infants, as well as MCA length compared to 7-month-old infants. No brain laterality differences were observed for any vascular measures in either infant or adult age groups. Reduced skull and brain sharpness, indicative of increased head motion and brain/vascular pulsation, respectively, were observed in infants but not correlated with length, tortuosity, or vasculature density measures. Quantitative analysis of TOF MRA using iCafe may provide an objective approach for systematic study of infant brain vascular development and for clinical assessment of adult and pediatric brain vascular diseases.

scholarly journals Planar cell polarity pathway and development of the human visual cortex

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean Shin ◽  
Shaojie Ma ◽  
Edith Hofer ◽  
Yash Patel ◽  
Gennady V. Roshchupkin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cerebral Cortex ◽  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Cytochrome Oxidase ◽  
Surface Area ◽  
Cell Polarity ◽  
Cortical Thickness ◽  
Planar Cell Polarity ◽  
Chromosome 17 ◽  
Intracranial Volume ◽  
Cortical Regions

AbstractThe radial unit hypothesis provides a framework for global (proliferation) and regional (distribution) expansion of the primate cerebral cortex. Using principal component analysis (PCA), we have identified cortical regions with shared variance in their surface area and cortical thickness, respectively, segmented from magnetic resonance images obtained in 23,800 participants. We then carried out meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies of the first two principal components for each phenotype. For surface area (but not cortical thickness), we have detected strong associations between each of the components and single nucleotide polymorphisms in a number of gene loci. The first (global) component was associated mainly with loci on chromosome 17 (9.5e-32 ≤ p ≤ 2.8e-10), including those detected previously as linked with intracranial volume and/or general cognitive function. The second (regional) component captured shared variation in the surface area of the primary and adjacent secondary visual cortices and showed a robust association with polymorphisms in a locus on chromosome 14 containing Disheveled Associated Activator of Morphogenesis 1 (DAAM1; p=2.4e-34). DAAM1 is a key component in the planar-cell-polarity signaling pathway. In follow-up studies, we have focused on the latter finding and established that: (1) DAAM1 is highly expressed between 12th and 22nd post-conception weeks in the human cerebral cortex; (2) genes co-expressed with DAAM1 in the primary visual cortex are enriched in mitochondria-related pathways; and (3) volume of the lateral geniculate nucleus, which projects to regions of the visual cortex staining for cytochrome oxidase (a mitochondrial enzyme), correlates with the surface area of the visual cortex in major-allele homozygotes but not in carriers of the minor allele. Altogether, we speculate that, in concert with thalamocortical input to cortical subplate, DAAM1 enables migration of neurons to cytochrome-oxidase rich regions of the visual cortex, and, in turn, facilitates regional expansion of this set of cortical regions during development.

scholarly journals The genetic organization of subcortical volumetric change is stable throughout the lifespan

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anders M Fjell ◽  
Håkon Grydeland ◽  
Yunpeng Wang ◽  
Inge Amlien ◽  
David Bartrés-Faz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cerebral Cortex ◽  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Brain Development ◽  
Embryonic Brain ◽  
Subcortical Structures ◽  
Single Nucleotide ◽  
Genetic Organization ◽  
Development And Aging ◽  
Subcortical Regions ◽  
Embryonic Brain Development

AbstractWhile development and aging of the cerebral cortex show a similar topographic organization and are mainly governed by the same genes, it is unclear whether the same is true for subcortical structures, which follow fundamentally different ontogenetic and phylogenetic principles than the cerebral cortex. To test the hypothesis that genetically governed neurodevelopmental processes can be traced in subcortical structures throughout life, we analyzed a longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging dataset (n = 974, age 4-89 years), identifying five clusters of longitudinal change in development. With some exceptions, these clusters followed placement along the cranial axis in embryonic brain development, suggesting continuity in the pattern of change from prenatal stages. Developmental change patterns were conserved through the lifespan and predicted general cognitive function in an age-invariant manner. The results were replicated in longitudinal data from the Lifebrain consortium (n = 756, age 19-83 years). Genetic contributions to longitudinal brain changes were calculated from the Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging (n = 331 male twins, age 51-60 years), revealing that distinct sets of genes tended to govern change for each developmental cluster. This finding was confirmed with single nucleotide polymorphisms and cross-sectional MRI data from the UK Biobank (n = 20,588, age 40-69), demonstrating significantly higher co-heritability among structures belonging to the same developmental clusters. Together, these results suggest that coordination of subcortical change adheres to fundamental principles of lifespan continuity, genetic organization and age-invariant relationships to cognitive function.Significance statementHere we show that subcortical change during childhood development is organized in clusters. These clusters tend to follow the main gradient of embryonic brain development, and are stable across life. This means that subcortical regions changing together in childhood also change together throughout the rest of life, in accordance with a lifespan perspective on brain development and aging. Twin and single nucleotide polymorphism-based heritability analyses in middle-aged and older adults showed that volume and volume change of regions within each developmental cluster tended to be governed by the same sets of genes. Thus, volumetric changes across subcortical regions are tightly organized, and the coordinated change can be described in a lifespan perspective according to ontogenetic and genetic influences.

scholarly journals Corticosteroids and Regional Variations in Thickness of the Human Cerebral Cortex across the Lifespan

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 575-586 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadine Parker ◽  
Didac Vidal-Pineiro ◽  
Leon French ◽  
Jean Shin ◽  
Hieab H H Adams ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cerebral Cortex ◽  
Cortical Thickness ◽  
Brain Structure ◽  
Pyramidal Cells ◽  
Brain Atlas ◽  
Variable Degree ◽  
Human Cerebral Cortex ◽  
Age Related ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Age Related Changes

Abstract Exposures to life stressors accumulate across the lifespan, with possible impact on brain health. Little is known, however, about the mechanisms mediating age-related changes in brain structure. We use a lifespan sample of participants (n = 21 251; 4–97 years) to investigate the relationship between the thickness of cerebral cortex and the expression of the glucocorticoid- and the mineralocorticoid-receptor genes (NR3C1 and NR3C2, respectively), obtained from the Allen Human Brain Atlas. In all participants, cortical thickness correlated negatively with the expression of both NR3C1 and NR3C2 across 34 cortical regions. The magnitude of this correlation varied across the lifespan. From childhood through early adulthood, the profile similarity (between NR3C1/NR3C2 expression and thickness) increased with age. Conversely, both profile similarities decreased with age in late life. These variations do not reflect age-related changes in NR3C1 and NR3C2 expression, as observed in 5 databases of gene expression in the human cerebral cortex (502 donors). Based on the co-expression of NR3C1 (and NR3C2) with genes specific to neural cell types, we determine the potential involvement of microglia, astrocytes, and CA1 pyramidal cells in mediating the relationship between corticosteroid exposure and cortical thickness. Therefore, corticosteroids may influence brain structure to a variable degree throughout life.

scholarly journals Physical Fitness and Age-Related Differences in Cognition and Cortical Thickness in Young Adulthood

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R Best
Keyword(s):  
Physical Fitness ◽  
Young Adulthood ◽  
Cortical Thickness ◽  
Environmental Effects ◽  
Shared Environment ◽  
Cortical Thinning ◽  
Cardiovascular Endurance ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Development And Aging ◽  
N 93

The association between physical fitness and age-related differences in cognition and brain structure has been studied fairly extensively during development and aging, yet comparatively less in young adulthood. The current study examined 1195 young adults aged 22 to 36 (54% female; 67% Caucasian) to better understand associations between physical fitness—grip strength and submaximal cardiovascular endurance—and age-related differences in executive function (EF), memory, and average cortical thickness. EF, memory, and cortical thickness were negatively associated with age, and higher endurance was positively associated with EF and memory. Neither physical fitness measure associated with cortical thinning. To follow-up on these analyses, data from monozygotic (n=149 pairs) and dizygotic (n=93 pairs) twins were used to estimate the degree to which heritability versus environment might contribute to the observed associations between cognition and endurance. Environmental effects shared by monozygotic and dizygotic twins alike were estimated to account for roughly 50% of the correlation between endurance and cognition (EF and memory). Heritability and non-shared environmental effects were inconsistent across EF and memory. Overall, these findings suggest an association between cardiovascular endurance and age-related differences in cognition in young adulthood and that these associations may be independent of cortical thinning. Whereas there was consistent evidence for a moderate contribution of the shared environment, there was limited and inconsistent evidence for a role of heritability.

Cortical Thickness in Cocaine Use Disorder and its Relation to Age-Related Brain Atrophy

2021 ◽  
Vol 89 (9) ◽  
pp. S368-S369
Author(s):  
Lucca Pizzato Tondo ◽  
Wyllians Vendramini Borelli ◽  
Leonardo Melo Rothmann ◽  
Eduardo Leal-Conceição ◽  
Alexandre Rosa Franco ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cortical Thickness ◽  
Brain Atrophy ◽  
Cocaine Use ◽  
Age Related

scholarly journals Regional Associations of Cortical Thickness With Gait Variability: The Tasmanian Study of Cognition and Gait

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 232-233
Author(s):  
Oshadi Jayakody ◽  
Monique Breslin ◽  
Richard Beare ◽  
Velandai Srikanth ◽  
Helena Blumen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cortical Thickness ◽  
Step Length ◽  
Gait Variability ◽  
Thickness Ratio ◽  
Sensory Function ◽  
Time Variability ◽  
Step Width ◽  
Time Step ◽  
Cortical Regions ◽  
Regional Associations

Abstract Gait variability is a marker of cognitive decline. However, there is limited understanding of the cortical regions associated with gait variability. We examined associations between regional cortical thickness and gait variability in a population-based sample of older people without dementia. Participants (n=350, mean age 71.9±7.1) were randomly selected from the electoral roll. Variability in step time, step length, step width and double support time (DST) were calculated as the standard deviation of each measure, obtained from the GAITRite walkway. MRI scans were processed through FreeSurfer to obtain cortical thickness of 68 regions. Bayesian regression was used to determine regional associations of mean cortical thickness and thickness ratio (regional thickness/overall mean thickness) with gait variability. Smaller overall cortical thickness was only associated with greater step width and step time variability. Smaller mean thickness in widespread regions important for sensory, cognitive and motor functions were associated with greater step width and step time variability. In contrast, smaller thickness in a few frontal and temporal regions were associated with DST variability and the right cuneus was associated with step length variability. Smaller thickness ratio in frontal and temporal regions important for motor planning, execution and sensory function and, greater thickness ratio in the anterior cingulate was associated with greater variability in all measures. Examining individual cortical regions is important in understanding the relationship between gray matter and gait variability. Cortical thickness ratio highlights that smaller regional thickness relative to global thickness may be important for the consistency of gait.

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