Peter Kochunov1, Carlos Castro2,
David Purdy3, Yi Zhang1, Duff Davis1
1Reseach Imaging Institute, UTHSCSA,
san antonio, TX, United States; 2Ob / Gyn and Reproductive
Sciences, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, United
States; 3Siemens Medical Solutions, Malvern, PA , United States
Primary
gyrogenesis is a poorly-understood developmental process that transforms the
lissencephalic cortex of a maturing mammalian brain toward its mature,
gyrencephalic state by sculpting an intricate pattern of folds (gyri) and
burrows (sulci). A novel in utero MRI
protocol developed specifically for high-resolution imaging of fetal brain
was used for precise tracking of global and regional gyrification in fetuses
of baboons, information that would otherwise be difficult to obtain. These
studies revealed a disparity in the growth rates of revealed a disparity of
the growth rates in sulcal length and depth.