PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Elizabeth R. Sowell
AU  - Paul M. Thompson
AU  - Christiana M. Leonard
AU  - Suzanne E. Welcome
AU  - Eric Kan
AU  - Arthur W. Toga
TI  - Longitudinal Mapping of Cortical Thickness and Brain Growth in Normal Children
AID  - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1798-04.2004
DP  - 2004 Sep 22
TA  - The Journal of Neuroscience
PG  - 8223--8231
VI  - 24
IP  - 38
4099  - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/24/38/8223.short
4100  - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/24/38/8223.full
SO  - J. Neurosci.2004 Sep 22; 24
AB  - Recent advances in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology now allow the tracing of developmental changes in the brains of children. We applied computer-matching algorithms and new techniques for measuring cortical thickness (in millimeters) to the structural MRI images of 45 children scanned twice (2 yr apart) between the ages 5 and 11. Changes in brain size were also assessed, showing local brain growth progressing at a rate of ∼0.4-1.5 mm per year, most prominently in frontal and occipital regions. Estimated cortical thickness ranged from 1.5 mm in occipital regions to 5.5 mm in dorsomedial frontal cortex. Gray matter thinning coupled with cortical expansion was highly significant in right frontal and bilateral parieto-occipital regions. Significant thickening was restricted to left inferior frontal (Broca's area) and bilateral posterior perisylvian (Wernicke's area on the left) regions. In the left hemisphere, gray matter thickness was correlated with changing cognitive abilities. For the first time, developmental changes in gray matter thickness, brain size, and structure-function relationships have been traced within the same individuals studied longitudinally during a time of rapid cognitive development.