# Multifaceted Characterization of Early Human Brain Development

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 2024 · $660,323

## Abstract

Multifaceted Characterization of Early Human Brain Development
Abstract
In the first few years of life, the human brain develops dynamically in both structure and function. Many neuro-
developmental disorders are associated with aberrations from normative growth during this critical period of brain
development. The longitudinal high-resolution MRI data of children from birth to 5 years of age, made available
through the Baby Connectome Project (BCP), affords unprecedented opportunities for precise charting of early
brain developmental trajectories in order to understand normative and aberrant growth. Dedicated computational
tools have been developed at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for accurate processing and anal-
ysis of baby MR images, which typically exhibit dynamic heterogeneous changes across time. The goal of this
secondary analysis project is to apply these tools to the data acquired via the BCP to investigate structural and
functional connectomes, tissue macrostructure and microstructure, and their interplay during early brain devel-
opment. In Aim 1, we will investigate the hierarchical organization of the cerebral cortex by analyzing areal
differences in neuroanatomical characteristics involving cortical morphology and microstructure. We will utilize
our infant-centric pipeline to delineate cortical geometry by constructing white matter and pial surfaces, based on
which macroscopic features of cortical morphology, such as thickness and curvature, and microscopic features of
myeloarchitecture and cytoarchitecture, such as neurite and soma densities, will be extracted and analyzed. For
completeness, tissue macroscopic and microscopic measurements of subcortical structures will also be included
for investigation. In Aim 2, we will study brain development in terms of dense vertex-wise cortical connectivity.
We will use our infant-centric diffusion model and tractography algorithm to significantly improve the delineation
of white matter pathways, particularly in superficial white matter with characteristically low diffusion anisotropy,
and to reduce gyral bias in establishing dense connectivity of cortical surface vertices. Vertex-wise stationary
and dynamic functional connectivity will also be analyzed. In Aim 3, we will investigate the interplay of multiple
developmental traits during the first years of postnatal brain development. We will study brain subnetworks in
association with motor, language, and visual development. We will assess the associations of these networks
with psychological assessments such as the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL) with subdomains including
gross/fine motor, receptive/expressive language, and visual reception.
This project will involve the utilization of multimodal MRI, including structural, diffusion, and functional MRI, to
provide a more complete picture of human brain development. Successful completion of this project will empower
the neuroscience community with improved understan...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10882937
- **Project number:** 1R01MH133836-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **Principal Investigator:** Pew-Thian Yap
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $660,323
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-07-15 → 2029-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10882937

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10882937, Multifaceted Characterization of Early Human Brain Development (1R01MH133836-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10882937. Licensed CC0.

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