Magnetic resonance imaging techniques to monitor The Brain's Maturity and Development

Magnetic resonance imaging techniques to monitorabout individuals. Based on our previous group level
The Brain's Maturity and Developmentanalyses, we were confident that we could apply
Recently, scientists say they may have found a waymachine learning diagnostics and prognostics to the
of knowing how the human brain changes andstudy of typical development.
develops as the child gradually matures into an adult.The investigators found that, over time..:
All it appears to need, they say, are periodic 5-minute- ..the strength of long-range neuronal brain connections
brain scans, which is published in the 10thtends to increase with age
September,2010 issue. The research workers show- ..the strength of short-range connections tends to
that a child's mental development could be monitored inbecome weaker with age
the same way as their height and weight are.The loss of short-range brain connections appear to
Nico Dosenbach, Department of Neurology,point to brain maturity, rather than any other factor, the
Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis,researchers added.
and team consisting of researchers from various partsThe more mature the human brain is, the sharper
of the USA, examined the fcMRIs (functionalneuronal connections are, but there are fewer of them
connectivity magnetic resonance imaging) brain scanscompared to a younger brain, the scientists wrote.
of 238 volunteers, aged between 7 and 30 years.One day it could become standard practice to
They used state-of-the-art pattern analysis softwareundergo periodic 5-minute fcMRI brain scans. The
to discover how the human brain matures as timeresearchers say that these scans would help doctors
goes by.in screening, diagnosing and treating individuals with
The authors explained that a five-minute scan can finddisordered brain function (AUTISM  )
out 13,000 measurements of functional brainDosenbach also added,"The functional connectivity
connections.maturation index would be most helpful as an all
The technique the team used utilizes MRI (magneticpurpose screening tool for developmental aberrations
resonance imaging), which is already commonlyof various origins. Clinicians could even track it
ordered to measure brain activity by correlatinglongitudinally to monitor their patients with known
changes in blood flow to various regions in the brain.disorders, for example, to assess their responses to
The scans do not use radiation and are consideredvarious therapies. Hopefully, in the future, we'll be able
safe.to develop diagnostic machines tailored to diagnose
FcMRI (functional connectivity magnetic resonancespecific disorders, such as autism ".
imaging) measures connection in the resting brains ofThe authors stress that much more work is required
individuals. The software, a computer program,to refine the test. They estimate that they could
analyzes how connections in the brain change as thedistinguish between the brains of children aged from 7
human matures.to 11 and adults aged from 25 to 30 with 90%
Dosenbach  said,"We wanted to take our analyses toaccuracy. Their current technique can differentiate
the single subject level and make meaningful decisionsbetween teenagers and adults with 75% accuracy.