Studying neuroanatomy using MRI

The study of neuroanatomy using imaging enables key insights into how our brains function, are shaped by genes and environment, and change with development, aging, and disease. Developments in MRI acquisition, image processing, and data modelling have been key to these advances. However, MRI provides an indirect measurement of the biological signals we aim to investigate. Thus, artifacts and key questions of correct interpretation can confound the readouts provided by anatomical MRI. In this review we provide an overview of the methods for measuring macro- and mesoscopic structure and inferring microstructural properties; we also describe key artefacts and confounds that can lead to incorrect conclusions. Ultimately, we believe that, though methods need to improve and caution is required in its interpretation, structural MRI continues to have great promise in furthering our understanding of how the brain works

Brain charts for the human lifespan

Over the past 25 years, neuroimaging has become a ubiquitous tool in basic research and clinical studies of the human brain. However, there are no reference standards against which to anchor measures of individual differences in brain morphology, in contrast to growth charts for traits such as height and weight. Here, we built an interactive online resource ( www.brainchart.io ) to quantify individual differences in brain structure from any current or future magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study, against models of expected age-related trends. With the goal of basing these on the largest and most inclusive dataset, we aggregated MRI data spanning 115 days post-conception through 100 postnatal years, totaling 122,123 scans from 100,071 individuals in over 100 studies across 6 continents. When quantified as centile scores relative to the reference models, individual differences show high validity with non-MRI brain growth estimates and high stability across longitudinal assessment. Centile scores helped identify previously unreported brain developmental milestones and demonstrated increased genetic heritability compared to non-centiled MRI phenotypes. Crucially for the study of brain disorders, centile scores provide a standardised and interpretable measure of deviation that reveals new patterns of neuroanatomical differences across neurological and psychiatric disorders emerging during development and ageing. In sum, brain charts for the human lifespan are an essential first step towards robust, standardised quantification of individual variation and for characterizing deviation from age-related trends. Our global collaborative study provides such an anchorpoint for basic neuroimaging research and will facilitate implementation of research-based standards in clinical studies

Publisher Correction: Brain charts for the human lifespan.

In the version of this article initially published, there were errors in the affiliations for K. Im (missing affiliation, Division of Newborn Medicine and Neuroradiology, Fetal Neonatal Neuroimaging and Developmental Science Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA), J. Lerch (missing affiliation, Mouse Imaging Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada), S. Villeneuve and X. N. Zuo (incorrect affiliation numbers listed), H. Yun (missing affiliation, Division of Newborn Medicine and Neuroradiology, Fetal Neonatal Neuroimaging and Developmental Science Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA), and H. J. Zar (extra affiliation shown). In addition, the affiliation numbers for all authors listed in the consortium membership section were incorrect by 1–3 digits. The errors have been corrected in the HTML and PDF versions of the article