The hippocampus, essential for cognitive and affective processes, develops exponentially with differential trajectories seen in girls and boys, yet less is known about its development during early fetal life until early childhood. In a cross-sectional and longitudinal study, we examined the sex-, age-, and laterality-related developmental trajectories of hippocampal volumes in fetuses, infants, and toddlers associated with age. Third trimester fetuses (27-38 weeks' gestational age), newborns (0-4 weeks' postnatal age), infants (5-50 weeks' postnatal age), and toddlers (2-3 years postnatal age) were scanned with magnetic resonance imaging. A total of 133 datasets (62 female, postmenstrual age [weeks] M = 69.38, SD = 51.39, range = 27.6-195.3) were processed using semiautomatic segmentation methods. Hippocampal volumes increased exponentially during the third trimester and the first year of life, beginning to slow at approximately 2 years. Overall, boys had larger hippocampal volumes than girls. Lateralization differences were evident, with left hippocampal growth beginning to plateau sooner than the right. This period of rapid growth from the third trimester, continuing through the first year of life, may support the development of cognitive and affective function during this period.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhad421 | DOI Listing |
Exp Physiol
January 2025
Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
Absence of the structural protein, dystrophin, results in the neuromuscular disorder Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). In addition to progressive skeletal muscle dysfunction, this multisystemic disorder can also result in cognitive deficits and behavioural changes that are likely to be consequences of dystrophin loss from central neurons and astrocytes. Dystrophin-deficient mdx mice exhibit decreases in grey matter volume in the hippocampus, the brain region that encodes and consolidates memories, and this is exacerbated with ageing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIndian J Psychiatry
November 2024
Department of Physiotherapy, School of Medical and Allied Health Sciences, Galgotias University, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Background: Schizophrenia is considered to be a condition that usually manifests at any age but commonly seen in young people and is associated with a genetic propensity in brain development.
Aim: The study explores the impact of aerobic training on brain architecture, hippocampal volume, cardiorespiratory parameters, and quality of life in young individuals with schizophrenia. The investigation focuses on the correlation between genetic predisposition, hippocampal atrophy, and diminished cardiorespiratory fitness, aiming to discern potential benefits of aerobic exercise on both physical and mental health outcomes.
EBioMedicine
January 2025
Neuropsychiatric Epidemiology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, Centre for Ageing and Health (AGECAP) at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden; Department of Psychiatry, Cognition and Old Age Psychiatry, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Region Västra Götaland, Mölndal, Sweden.
Background: A better understanding of body-brain links may provide insights on targets for preventing cognitive decline. The aim was to explore associations of body composition with neuroimaging biomarkers and cognitive function among dementia-free 70-year-olds.
Methods: Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry body composition measures in relation to neuroimaging measures of cortical thickness, hippocampal volume, small vessel disease, predicted brain age, and cognitive performance were explored in a cross-sectional study of 674 dementia-free 70-year-olds from the Swedish Gothenburg H70 Birth Cohort study.
JAMA Netw Open
December 2024
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University in St Louis, Missouri.
Importance: The extent to which neuroanatomical variability associated with early substance involvement, which is associated with subsequent risk for substance use disorder development, reflects preexisting risk and/or consequences of substance exposure remains poorly understood.
Objective: To examine neuroanatomical features associated with early substance use initiation and to what extent associations may reflect preexisting vulnerability.
Design, Setting, And Participants: Cohort study using data from baseline through 3-year follow-up assessments of the ongoing longitudinal Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study.
Brain Pathol
January 2025
The Ritchie Centre, Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Translational Research Facility, Clayton, VIC, Australia.
The last pregnancy trimester is critical for fetal brain development but is a vulnerable period if the pregnancy is compromised by fetal growth restriction (FGR). The impact of FGR on the maturational development of neuronal morphology is not known, however, studies in fetal sheep allow longitudinal analysis in a long gestation species. Here we compared hippocampal neuron dendritogenesis in FGR and control fetal sheep at three timepoints equivalent to the third trimester of pregnancy, complemented by magnetic resonance image for brain volume, and electrophysiology for synaptic function.
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