Emi Takahashi1,
Emiko Hayashi1, Rebecca D. Folkerth2, Jeremy D.
Schmahmann3, Patricia Ellen Grant4
1Boston
Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States; 2Brigham
and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States; 3Massachusetts
General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States; 4Boston Children's
Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
Our objective in this study was to further apply HARDI tracography to the developing human cerebellum ranging from fetal to toddler stages, to outline in broad strokes the 3-dimensional development of white matter and local gray matter organization in the cerebellum. Our results show the usefulness of HARDI tractography to image developing cerebellar connectivity. We observed regression of radial organization in the cerebellar cortex and the emergence of regional specificity of cerebellar peduncles that were similar to our previous observations on the development of cerebral cortex. Our results demonstrated the potential for HARDI tractography to improve our understanding of neuronal circuitry and connectivity in both white and gray matter in the developing cerebellum.