TY - JOUR
T1 - Anatomical characterization of human fetal brain development with diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging
AU - Huang, Hao
AU - Xue, Rong
AU - Zhang, Jiangyang
AU - Ren, Tianbo
AU - Richards, Linda J.
AU - Yarowsky, Paul
AU - Miller, Michael I.
AU - Mori, Susumu
PY - 2009/4/1
Y1 - 2009/4/1
N2 - The human brain is extraordinarily complex, and yet its origin is a simple tubular structure. Characterizing its anatomy at different stages of human fetal brain development not only aids in understanding this highly ordered process but also provides clues to detecting abnormalities caused by genetic or environmental factors. During the second trimester of human fetal development, neural structures in the brain undergo significant morphological changes. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), a novel method of magnetic resonance imaging, is capable of delineating anatomical components with high contrast and revealing structures at the microscopic level. In this study, high-resolution and high-signal-to-noise-ratio DTI data of fixed tissues of second-trimester human fetal brains were acquired and analyzed. DTI color maps and tractography revealed that important white matter tracts, such as the corpus callosum and uncinate and inferior longitudinal fasciculi, become apparent during this period. Three-dimensional reconstruction shows that major brain fissures appear while most of the cerebral surface remains smooth until the end of the second trimester. A dominant radial organization was identified at 15 gestational weeks, followed by both laminar and radial architectures in the cerebral wall throughout the remainder of the second trimester. Volumetric measurements of different structures indicate that the volumes of basal ganglia and ganglionic eminence increase along with that of the whole brain, while the ventricle size decreases in the later second trimester. The developing fetal brain DTI database presented can be used for education, as an anatomical research reference, and for data registration.
AB - The human brain is extraordinarily complex, and yet its origin is a simple tubular structure. Characterizing its anatomy at different stages of human fetal brain development not only aids in understanding this highly ordered process but also provides clues to detecting abnormalities caused by genetic or environmental factors. During the second trimester of human fetal development, neural structures in the brain undergo significant morphological changes. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), a novel method of magnetic resonance imaging, is capable of delineating anatomical components with high contrast and revealing structures at the microscopic level. In this study, high-resolution and high-signal-to-noise-ratio DTI data of fixed tissues of second-trimester human fetal brains were acquired and analyzed. DTI color maps and tractography revealed that important white matter tracts, such as the corpus callosum and uncinate and inferior longitudinal fasciculi, become apparent during this period. Three-dimensional reconstruction shows that major brain fissures appear while most of the cerebral surface remains smooth until the end of the second trimester. A dominant radial organization was identified at 15 gestational weeks, followed by both laminar and radial architectures in the cerebral wall throughout the remainder of the second trimester. Volumetric measurements of different structures indicate that the volumes of basal ganglia and ganglionic eminence increase along with that of the whole brain, while the ventricle size decreases in the later second trimester. The developing fetal brain DTI database presented can be used for education, as an anatomical research reference, and for data registration.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=65249140137&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=65249140137&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2769-08.2009
DO - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2769-08.2009
M3 - Article
C2 - 19339620
AN - SCOPUS:65249140137
SN - 0270-6474
VL - 29
SP - 4263
EP - 4273
JO - Journal of Neuroscience
JF - Journal of Neuroscience
IS - 13
ER -