Our associate professor, Catherine Lebel, presented a talk on how white matter matures throughout childhood and adolescence. Here is a quick blurb on the talk:
“Brain white matter matures throughout childhood and adolescence, and this maturation can be measured in different ways. The most commonly used method is diffusion tensor imaging, which is highly sensitive to white matter changes, but not very specific. Longitudinal data is essential to appropriately measure changes over time, but relatively few studies have used longitudinal neuroimaging to characterize white matter development within participants. In this talk, I will share some of the recent work from my lab looking at typical white matter development from early childhood to adolescence using diffusion imaging and other white matter imaging techniques. I will also present results showing atypical brain connectivity and brain development in young children with prenatal alcohol exposure, and in infants and children who experienced prenatal maternal psychological distress.”