Spatiotemporal cerebral blood flow dynamics underlies emergence of the limbic-sensorimotor-association cortical gradient in human infancy.

ABSTRACT: Infant cerebral blood flow (CBF) delivers nutrients and oxygen to fulfill brain energy consumption requirements for the fastest period of postnatal brain development across the lifespan. However, organizing principle of whole-brain CBF dynamics during infancy remains obscure. Leveraging a unique cohort of 100+ infants with high-resolution arterial spin labeled MRI, we find the emergence of the cortical hierarchy revealed by the highest-resolution infant CBF maps available to date. Infant CBF across cortical regions increases in a biphasic pattern featured by initial rapid and subsequently slower rate, and break-point ages increasing along the limbic-sensorimotor-association cortical gradient. Increases in CBF in sensorimotor cortices are associated with enhanced language and motor skills,

SUBMITTER: Ouyang M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11484854 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature