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The Journal of Neuroscience, February 20, 2008, 28(8):1943-1948; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5145-07.2008

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Brief Communications
Microstructural Correlates of Infant Functional Development: Example of the Visual Pathways

Jessica Dubois,^1,9 Ghislaine Dehaene-Lambertz,^2,6,9 Catherine Soarès,^2,6,9 Yann Cointepas,^3,9 Denis Le Bihan,^4,9 and Lucie Hertz-Pannier^5,7,8,9

¹Unité de Neuroimagerie Anatomique et Fonctionnelle, Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique (CEA)/Saclay (SAC)/Division des Sciences du Vivant (DSV)/Institut d'imagerie Biomédicale (I2BM)/Service Hospitalier Frédéric Joliot, 91401 Orsay, France, ²Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, U562, ³Laboratoire de Neuroimagerie Assistée par Ordinateur, CEA, ⁴NeuroSpin, CEA, and ⁵Laboratoire de Recherche Biomédicale, CEA/SAC/DSV/I2BM/NeuroSpin, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France, ⁶Assistance Publique/Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Neuropédiatrie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, 94275 Bicêtre, France, ⁷AP-HP, Radiologie Pédiatrique, Hôpital Necker-Enfants Malades, 75015 Paris, France, ⁸Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, U663, Université Paris 5, 75015 Paris, France, and ⁹Institut Fédératif de Recherche, 75 Paris, France

Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Jessica Dubois, U663, Hôpital Necker-Enfants maladies, 149 rue de Sèvres, 75015 Paris, France. Email: jessica.dubois{at}centraliens.net

The development of cognitive functions during childhood relies on several neuroanatomical maturation processes. Among these processes is myelination of the white matter pathways, which speeds up electrical conduction. Quantitative indices of such structural processes can be obtained in vivo with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), but their physiological significance remains uncertain. Here, we investigated the microstructural correlates of early functional development by combining DTI and visual event-related potentials (VEPs) in 15 one- to 4-month-old healthy infants. Interindividual variations of the apparent conduction speed, computed from the latency of the first positive VEP wave (P1), were significantly correlated with the infants' age and DTI indices measured in the optic radiations. This demonstrates that fractional anisotropy and transverse diffusivity are structural markers of functionally efficient myelination. Moreover, these indices computed along the optic radiations showed an early wave of maturation in the anterior region, with the posterior region catching up later in development, which suggests two asynchronous fronts of myelination in both the geniculocortical and corticogeniculate fibers. Thus, in addition to microstructural information, DTI provides noninvasive exquisite information on the functional development of the brain in human infants.

Key words: myelination; DTI; tractography; ERP; VEP; P1 latency; conduction speed

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Received Aug. 6, 2007; revised Dec. 20, 2007; accepted Dec. 20, 2007.

Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Jessica Dubois, U663, Hôpital Necker-Enfants maladies, 149 rue de Sèvres, 75015 Paris, France. Email: jessica.dubois{at}centraliens.net

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