The development of structural covariance networks during the transition from childhood to adolescence

N Vijayakumar; G Ball; ML Seal; L Mundy; S Whittle; T Silk

Journal article

The development of structural covariance networks during the transition from childhood to adolescence

N Vijayakumar, G Ball, ML Seal, L Mundy, S Whittle, T Silk

Scientific Reports | Published : 2021

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-88918-w

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Abstract

Structural covariance conceptualizes how morphologic properties of brain regions are related to one another (across individuals). It can provide unique information to cortical structure (e.g., thickness) about the development of functionally meaningful networks. The current study investigated how structural covariance networks develop during the transition from childhood to adolescence, a period characterized by marked structural re-organization. Participants (N = 192; scans = 366) completed MRI assessments between 8.5 and 14.5 years of age. A sliding window approach was used to create “age-bins”, and structural covariance networks (based on cortical thickness) were created for each bin. Nex..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Nandita Vijayakumar Author

Gareth Ball Author

Marc L Seal Author

Lisa Mundy Author

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Grants

Awarded by Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions, Australian Research Council

Funding Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Prof George Patton (Murdoch Children's Research Institute) for comments on the manuscript, and A/Prof Richard Beare (Monash University) for methodological discussions. We also thank all the families that have participated in both NICAP and iCATS. NICAP was funded by the National Medical Health and Research Council of Australia (NHMRC; project grant #1065895). iCATS was funded by a Discovery Project grant from the Australian Research Council (ARC; DP120101402). SW was supported by a NHMRC Career Development Fellowship (#1125504). Cohorts were supported by the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, The Royal Children's Hospital, The Royal Children's Hospital Foundation, Department of Paediatrics at The University of Melbourne and the Victorian Government's Operational Infrastructure Support Program. We also thank The Royal Children's Hospital's Medical Imaging staff for their assistance and expertise in the collection of the MRI data included in this study.