Scientists say they may have found a way of knowing how the human brain changes and develops as the child gradually matures into an adult. All it appears to need, they say, are periodic 5-minute brain scans, according to an article published in the journal Science, 10 September issue. The authors say that a child’s mental development could be monitored in a similar way their height and weight are.
Nico Dosenbach, Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, and team consisting of researchers from various parts of the USA, examined the fcMRIs (functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging) brain scans of 238 volunteers, aged between 7 and 30 years. They used state-of-the-art pattern analysis software to discover how the human brain matures as time goes by.
The authors explained that a five-minute scan can reveal 13,000 measurements of functional brain connections.
The technique the team used utilizes MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), which is already commonly ordered to measure brain activity by correlating changes in blood flow to various regions in the brain.
FcMRI (functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging) measures connection in the resting brains of individuals. The software, a computer program, analyzes how connections in the brain change as the human matures.
Dosenbach said:
We wanted to take our analyses to the single subject level and make meaningful decisions about individuals. Based on our previous group level analyses, we were confident that we could apply machine learning diagnostics and prognostics to the study of typical development.
The investigators found that, over time..:
- ..the strength of long-range neuronal brain connections tends to increase with age
- ..the strength of short-range connections tends to become weaker with age
The loss of short-range brain connections appear to point to brain maturity, rather than any other factor, the researchers wrote.
The more mature the human brain is, the sharper neuronal connections are, but there are fewer of them compared to a younger brain, the scientists wrote.
One day it could become standard practice to undergo periodic 5-minute fcMRI brain scans. The researchers say that these scans would help doctors in screening, diagnosing and treating individuals with disordered brain function.
Dosenbach said:
The functional connectivity maturation index would be most helpful as an all purpose screening tool for developmental aberrations of various origins. Clinicians could even track it longitudinally to monitor their patients with known disorders, for example, to assess their responses to various therapies. Hopefully, in the future, we’ll be able to develop diagnostic machines tailored to diagnose specific disorders, such as autism.
The authors stress that much more work is required to refine the test. They estimate that they could distinguish between the brains of children aged from 7 to 11 and adults aged from 25 to 30 with 90% accuracy. Their current technique can differentiate between teenagers and adults with 75% accuracy.
Nico U. F. Dosenbach, Binyam Nardos, Alexander L. Cohen, Damien A. Fair, Jonathan D. Power, Jessica A. Church, Steven M. Nelson, Gagan S. Wig, Alecia C. Vogel, Christina N. Lessov-Schlaggar, Kelly Anne Barnes, Joseph W. Dubis, Eric Feczko, Rebecca S. Coalson, John R. Pruett, Jr., Deanna M. Barch, Steven E. Petersen, Bradley L. Schlaggar
Science 10 September 2010: Vol. 329. no. 5997, pp. 1358 – 1361 DOI: 10.1126/science.1194144
Written by Christian Nordqvist