Neuroscience Program, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States.
Marcus Autism Center, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA 30329, United States.
Cereb Cortex. 2023 Sep 26;33(19):10221-10233. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhad277.
Lateralization patterns are a major structural feature of brain white matter and have been investigated as a neural architecture that indicates and supports the specialization of cognitive processing and observed behaviors, e.g. language skills. Many neurodevelopmental disorders have been associated with atypical lateralization, reinforcing the need for careful measurement and study of this structural characteristic. Unfortunately, there is little consensus on the direction and magnitude of lateralization in major white matter tracts during the first months and years of life-the period of most rapid postnatal brain growth and cognitive maturation. In addition, no studies have examined white matter lateralization in a longitudinal pediatric sample-preventing confirmation of if and how white matter lateralization changes over time. Using a densely sampled longitudinal data set from neurotypical infants aged 0-6 months, we aim to (i) chart trajectories of white matter lateralization in 9 major tracts and (ii) link variable findings from cross-sectional studies of white matter lateralization in early infancy. We show that patterns of lateralization are time-varying and tract-specific and that differences in lateralization results during this period may reflect the dynamic nature of lateralization through development, which can be missed in cross-sectional studies.
侧化模式是大脑白质的主要结构特征，它被作为一种神经结构进行研究，表明并支持认知处理和观察到的行为（例如语言技能）的专业化。许多神经发育障碍与非典型侧化有关，这进一步强调了需要仔细测量和研究这种结构特征。不幸的是，在生命的最初几个月和几年（即大脑生长和认知成熟最快的时期），对于主要白质束的侧化方向和程度还没有达成共识。此外，没有研究在纵向儿科样本中检查白质侧化，这使得无法确认白质侧化是否以及如何随时间变化。我们使用来自神经典型婴儿（0-6 个月）的密集采样纵向数据集，旨在（i）描绘 9 条主要束的白质侧化轨迹，以及（ii）将早期婴儿白质侧化的横向研究中的可变发现联系起来。我们表明，侧化模式是随时间变化的，且具有束特异性，在此期间侧化结果的差异可能反映了侧化在发展过程中的动态性质，而这在横向研究中可能会被忽略。
