RESEARCH ARTICLE
Tracking Development of the Corpus Callosum in Fetal and Early Postnatal Baboons Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Kimberley A Phillips 1, 2, 3, Peter Kochunov*, 2, 3
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2011Volume: 5
Issue: Suppl 2
First Page: 179
Last Page: 185
Publisher ID: TONIJ-5-179
DOI: 10.2174/1874440001105010179
PMID: 22253660
PMCID: PMC3256811
Article History:
Received Date: 6/1/2011Revision Received Date: 21/1/2011
Acceptance Date: 14/2/2011
Electronic publication date: 18/11/2011
Collection year: 2011
open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.
Abstract
Although the maturation of the corpus callosum (CC) can serve as a sensitive marker for normative antenatal and postnatal brain development, little is known about its development across this critical period. While high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging can provide an opportunity to examine normative brain development in humans, concerns remain over the exposure of developing fetuses to non-essential imaging. Nonhuman primates can provide a valuable model for normative brain maturation. Baboons share several important developmental characteristics with humans, including a highly orchestrated pattern of cerebral development. Developmental changes in total CC area and its subdivisions were examined across the antenatal (weeks 17 – 26 of 28 weeks total gestation) and early postnatal (to week 32) period in baboons (Papio hamadryas anubis). Thirteen fetal and sixteen infant baboons were studied using high-resolution MRI. During the period of primary gyrification, the total area of the CC increased by a magnitude of five. By postnatal week 32, the total CC area attained only 51% of the average adult area. CC subdivisions showed non-uniform increases in area, throughout development. The splenium showed the most maturation by postnatal week 32, attaining 55% of the average adult value. The subdivisions of the genu and anterior midbody showed the least maturation by postnatal week 32, attaining 50% and 49% of the average adult area. Thus, the CC of baboons shows continued growth past the postnatal period. These age-related changes in the developing baboon CC are consistent with the developmental course in humans.
