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4 - Development and Maturation of the Human Brain, from Infancy to Adolescence

from Part I - Neurobiological Constraints and Laws of Cognitive Development

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 February 2022

By
Tomáš Paus
Edited by
Olivier Houdé  and
Grégoire Borst
Olivier Houdé
Affiliation:
Université de Paris V
Grégoire Borst
Affiliation:
Université de Paris V
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Summary

This chapter describes basic principles and key findings regarding the development and maturation of the human brain, the former referring to the pre-natal and early post-natal periods, and the latter concerning childhood and adolescence. In both cases, we focus on brain structure as revealed in vivo with multi-modal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We begin with a few numbers about the human brain and its cellular composition, and a brief overview of a number of MRI-based metrics used to characterize age-related variations in grey and white matter. We then proceed with synthesizing current knowledge about developmental and maturational changes in the cerebral cortex (its thickness, surface area and intra-cortical myelination), and the underlying white matter (volume and structural properties). To facilitate biological interpretations of MRI-derived metrics, we introduce the concept of virtual histology. We conclude the chapter with a few notes about future directions in the study of factors shaping the human brain from conception onwards.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Cognitive Development , pp. 85 - 104
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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