Abstract
Previous research has reported on the development trajectory of the corpus callosum morphology. However, there have been only a few studies that have included data on infants. The goal of the present study was to examine the morphology of the corpus callosum in healthy participants of both sexes, from infancy to early adulthood. We sought to characterize normal development of the corpus callosum and possible sex differences in development. We performed a morphometric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study of 114 healthy individuals, aged 1 month to 25 years old, measuring the size of the corpus callosum. The corpus callosum was segmented into seven subareas of the rostrum, genu, rostral body, anterior midbody, posterior midbody, isthmus and splenium. Locally weighted regression analysis (LOESS) indicated significant non-linear age-related changes regardless of sex, particularly during the first few years of life. After this increase, curve slopes gradually became flat during adolescence and adulthood in both sexes. Age of local maximum for each subarea of the corpus callosum differed across the sexes. Ratios of total corpus callosum and genu, posterior midbody, as well as splenium to the whole brain were significantly higher in females compared with males. The present results demonstrate that the developmental trajectory of the corpus callosum during early life in healthy individuals is non-linear and dynamic. This pattern resembles that found for the cerebral cortex, further suggesting that this period plays a very important role in neural and functional development. In addition, developmental trajectories and changes in growth do show some sex differences.
Highlights
The corpus callosum, which consists of approximately 200 million fibers of varying diameters and degrees of myelination, is the largest inter-hemispheric commissure of the human brain [1]
It has been suggested that such connections are modality-specific and the anterior callosal fibers interconnecting the frontal lobes transfer motor information, and posterior fibers connecting the parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes bilaterally are responsible for the integration of somatosensory, auditory, and visual information [6]
These findings suggest that morphometric development of the corpus callosum is associated with the maturation of various human brain functions
Summary
The corpus callosum, which consists of approximately 200 million fibers of varying diameters and degrees of myelination, is the largest inter-hemispheric commissure of the human brain [1]. This structure plays an important role in signal transmission across the left and right hemispheres. Previous studies have revealed a correlation between the development of white matter structure and the development of motor skills and cognitive functions [7,8] These findings suggest that morphometric development of the corpus callosum is associated with the maturation of various human brain functions
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