MRI signatures of cortical microstructure in human development align with oligodendrocyte cell-type expression
Abstract Neuroanatomical changes to the cortex during adolescence have been well documented using MRI, revealing ongoing cortical thinning and volume loss. Recent advances in MRI hardware and biophysical models of tissue informed by diffusion MRI data hold promise for identifying the cellular change...
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| Format: | Article |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58604-w |
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| author | Sila Genc Gareth Ball Maxime Chamberland Erika P. Raven Chantal M. W. Tax Isobel Ward Joseph Y. M. Yang Marco Palombo Derek K. Jones |
| author_facet | Sila Genc Gareth Ball Maxime Chamberland Erika P. Raven Chantal M. W. Tax Isobel Ward Joseph Y. M. Yang Marco Palombo Derek K. Jones |
| author_sort | Sila Genc |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Neuroanatomical changes to the cortex during adolescence have been well documented using MRI, revealing ongoing cortical thinning and volume loss. Recent advances in MRI hardware and biophysical models of tissue informed by diffusion MRI data hold promise for identifying the cellular changes driving these morphological observations. Using ultra-strong gradient MRI, this study quantifies cortical neurite and soma microstructure in typically developing youth. Across domain-specific networks, cortical neurite signal fraction, attributed to neuronal and glial processes, increases with age. The apparent soma radius, attributed to the apparent radius of glial and neuronal cell bodies, decreases with age. Analyses of two independent post-mortem datasets reveal that genes increasing in expression through adolescence are significantly enriched in cortical oligodendrocytes and Layer 5–6 neurons. In our study, we show spatial and temporal alignment of oligodendrocyte cell-type gene expression with neurite and soma microstructural changes, suggesting that ongoing cortical myelination processes drive adolescent cortical development. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-baec161f5ba2478a98c6d65366ddfd11 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-baec161f5ba2478a98c6d65366ddfd112025-08-20T02:17:01ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-04-0116111210.1038/s41467-025-58604-wMRI signatures of cortical microstructure in human development align with oligodendrocyte cell-type expressionSila Genc0Gareth Ball1Maxime Chamberland2Erika P. Raven3Chantal M. W. Tax4Isobel Ward5Joseph Y. M. Yang6Marco Palombo7Derek K. Jones8Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff UniversityDevelopmental Imaging, Clinical Sciences, Murdoch Children’s Research InstituteCardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff UniversityCardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff UniversityCardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff UniversityCardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff UniversityDevelopmental Imaging, Clinical Sciences, Murdoch Children’s Research InstituteCardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff UniversityCardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff UniversityAbstract Neuroanatomical changes to the cortex during adolescence have been well documented using MRI, revealing ongoing cortical thinning and volume loss. Recent advances in MRI hardware and biophysical models of tissue informed by diffusion MRI data hold promise for identifying the cellular changes driving these morphological observations. Using ultra-strong gradient MRI, this study quantifies cortical neurite and soma microstructure in typically developing youth. Across domain-specific networks, cortical neurite signal fraction, attributed to neuronal and glial processes, increases with age. The apparent soma radius, attributed to the apparent radius of glial and neuronal cell bodies, decreases with age. Analyses of two independent post-mortem datasets reveal that genes increasing in expression through adolescence are significantly enriched in cortical oligodendrocytes and Layer 5–6 neurons. In our study, we show spatial and temporal alignment of oligodendrocyte cell-type gene expression with neurite and soma microstructural changes, suggesting that ongoing cortical myelination processes drive adolescent cortical development.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58604-w |
| spellingShingle | Sila Genc Gareth Ball Maxime Chamberland Erika P. Raven Chantal M. W. Tax Isobel Ward Joseph Y. M. Yang Marco Palombo Derek K. Jones MRI signatures of cortical microstructure in human development align with oligodendrocyte cell-type expression Nature Communications |
| title | MRI signatures of cortical microstructure in human development align with oligodendrocyte cell-type expression |
| title_full | MRI signatures of cortical microstructure in human development align with oligodendrocyte cell-type expression |
| title_fullStr | MRI signatures of cortical microstructure in human development align with oligodendrocyte cell-type expression |
| title_full_unstemmed | MRI signatures of cortical microstructure in human development align with oligodendrocyte cell-type expression |
| title_short | MRI signatures of cortical microstructure in human development align with oligodendrocyte cell-type expression |
| title_sort | mri signatures of cortical microstructure in human development align with oligodendrocyte cell type expression |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58604-w |
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