Calixto Camilo, Dorigatti Soldatelli Matheus, Jaimes Camilo, Pierotich Lana, Warfield Simon K, Gholipour Ali, Karimi Davood
Computational Radiology Laboratory, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115.
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2025 Jan 7;122(1):e2410341121. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2410341121. Epub 2024 Dec 30.
This study presents the construction of a comprehensive spatiotemporal atlas of white matter tracts in the fetal brain for every gestational week between 23 and 36 wk using diffusion MRI (dMRI). Our research leverages data collected from fetal MRI scans, capturing the dynamic changes in the brain's architecture and microstructure during this critical period. The atlas includes 60 distinct white matter tracts, including commissural, projection, and association fibers. We employed advanced fetal dMRI processing techniques and tractography to map and characterize the developmental trajectories of these tracts. Our findings reveal that the development of these tracts is characterized by complex patterns of fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD), coinciding with the intensity of histogenic processes such as axonal growth, involution of the radial-glial scaffolding, and synaptic pruning. This atlas can serve as a useful resource for neuroscience research and clinical practice, improving our understanding of the fetal brain and potentially aiding in the early diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disorders. By detailing the normal progression of white matter tract development, the atlas can be used as a benchmark for identifying deviations that may indicate neurological anomalies or predispositions to disorders.
本研究展示了使用扩散磁共振成像（dMRI）构建23至36孕周胎儿大脑白质束的综合时空图谱。我们的研究利用了从胎儿磁共振成像扫描中收集的数据，捕捉了这一关键时期大脑结构和微观结构的动态变化。该图谱包括60条不同的白质束，包括连合纤维、投射纤维和联合纤维。我们采用先进的胎儿dMRI处理技术和纤维束成像来绘制这些纤维束的发育轨迹并进行特征描述。我们的研究结果表明，这些纤维束的发育以分数各向异性（FA）和平均扩散率（MD）的复杂模式为特征，与轴突生长、放射状胶质支架退化和突触修剪等组织发生过程的强度相一致。该图谱可作为神经科学研究和临床实践的有用资源，增进我们对胎儿大脑的理解，并有可能有助于神经发育障碍的早期诊断。通过详细描述白质束发育的正常进程，该图谱可作为识别可能表明神经异常或疾病易感性偏差的基准。
