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Tracking cerebral white matter changes across the lifespan: insights from diffusion tensor imaging studies

  • Psychiatry and Preclinical Psychiatric Studies - Review article
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Abstract

Delineating the normal development of brain white matter (WM) over the human lifespan is crucial to improved understanding of underlying WM pathology in neuropsychiatric and neurological conditions. We review the extant literature concerning diffusion tensor imaging studies of brain WM development in healthy individuals available until October 2012, summarise trends of normal development of human brain WM and suggest possible future research directions. Temporally, brain WM maturation follows a curvilinear pattern with an increase in fractional anisotropy (FA) from newborn to adolescence, decelerating in adulthood till a plateau around mid-adulthood, and a more rapid decrease of FA from old age onwards. Spatially, brain WM tracts develop from central to peripheral regions, with evidence of anterior-to-posterior maturation in commissural and projection fibres. The corpus callosum and fornix develop first and decline earlier, whilst fronto-temporal WM tracts like cingulum and uncinate fasciculus have protracted maturation and decline later. Prefrontal WM is most vulnerable with greater age-related FA reduction compared with posterior WM. Future large scale studies adopting longitudinal design will better clarify human brain WM changes over time.

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Abbreviations

AD:

Axial diffusivity

ADC:

Apparent diffusion coefficient

AF:

Arcuate fasciculus

ALIC:

Anterior limb of internal capsule

ATR:

Anterior thalamic radiation

CC:

Corpus callosum

CG:

Cingulum bundles

c l :

Linear component

c p :

Planar component

CR:

Corona radiata

cs :

Spherical component

CST:

Corticospinal tract

DTI:

Diffusion tensor imaging

DWI:

Diffusion-weighted imaging

e 1 :

Eigenvector

EC:

External capsule

FA:

Fractional anisotropy

Fmaj:

Forceps major

Fmin:

Forceps minor

FX:

Fornix

GCC:

Genu of corpus callosum

GM:

Grey matter

IC:

Internal capsule

IFG:

Inferior frontal gyrus

IFOF:

Inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus

ILF:

Inferior longitudinal fasciculus

MD:

Mean diffusivity

MRI:

Magnetic resonance imaging

OR:

Optic radiation

PLIC:

Posterior limb of internal capsule

RA:

Relative anisotropy

RD:

Radial diffusivity

RF:

Radiofrequency

ROI:

Region-of-interest

SCC:

Splenium of corpus callosum

SFG:

Superior frontal gyrus

SFOF:

Superior fronto-occipital fasciculus

SLF:

Superior longitudinal fasciculus

SNR:

Signal-to-noise ratio

ST:

Stria terminalis

TBSS:

Tract-based spatial statistics

UF:

Uncinate fasciculus

U-fibres:

Short cortical fibres

VBM:

Voxel-based morphometry

VR:

Volume ratio

WM:

White matter

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by NHG (SIG/11003) and SBIC (RP C-009/2006) research grants awarded to K.S.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore

    Qian Jun Yap

  2. A*STAR-NUS Clinical Imaging Research Centre, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Irvin Teh

  3. Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, London, UK

    Paolo Fusar-Poli

  4. Institute of Mental Health/Woodbridge Hospital, 10, Buangkok View, Singapore, 539747, Singapore

    Min Yi Sum, Carissa Kuswanto & Kang Sim

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  1. Qian Jun Yap
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  2. Irvin Teh
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  3. Paolo Fusar-Poli
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  5. Carissa Kuswanto
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  6. Kang Sim
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Correspondence to Kang Sim.

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Yap, Q.J., Teh, I., Fusar-Poli, P. et al. Tracking cerebral white matter changes across the lifespan: insights from diffusion tensor imaging studies. J Neural Transm 120, 1369–1395 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-013-0971-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-013-0971-7

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