Imaging structural and functional brain development in early childhood

Key Points Adult patterns of regional cortical thickness seem to be present at birth, and cortical grey matter expands rapidly in the first year of life. Cortical thickness peaks between 1 and 2 years, whereas surface area expands through childhood White-matter tracts are established before birth, and postnatal myelination of these tracts occurs rapidly over the first 2 years of life. The white-matter connectome is fairly mature at birth Sensorimotor resting-state functional networks are present at birth, whereas higher-order functional networks gradually emerge and develop over the first 2 years of life Studies have begun to explore genetic and environmental influences on early-childhood brain development and the predictive value of early imaging biomarkers Future studies will need to better define normal and abnormal brain development in early childhood and determine whether it is possible to identify early imaging biomarkers of later cognitive and behavioural outcomes The human brain undergoes rapid development during the first 2 years of life. Here, Gilmore and colleagues give an overview of recent neuroimaging studies of the developmental trajectories of brain structure and function in the first years after birth. In humans, the period from term birth to ∼2 years of age is characterized by rapid and dynamic brain development and plays an important role in cognitive development and risk of disorders such as autism and schizophrenia. Recent imaging studies have begun to delineate the growth trajectories of brain structure and function in the first years after birth and their relationship to cognition and risk of neuropsychiatric disorders. This Review discusses the development of grey and white matter and structural and functional networks, as well as genetic and environmental influences on early-childhood brain development. We also discuss initial evidence regarding the usefulness of early imaging biomarkers for predicting cognitive outcomes and risk of neuropsychiatric disorders.