Scholarlink

<p>Human cortical development follows a hierarchical, sensorimotor-to-association sequence. The brain’s capacity to enact this sequence indicates that it relies on unknown mechanisms to regulate regional differences in the timing of cortical maturation. Given evidence from animal systems that thalamic axons mechanistically regulate periods of cortical plasticity, here we evaluate in humans whether the development of structural connections between the thalamus and cortex aligns with cortical maturational heterochronicity. By deriving a new tractography atlas of human thalamic connections and applying it to diffusion data from three youth samples (8–23 years; total <i>n</i> = 2,676), we demonstrate that thalamocortical connectivity matures in a generalizable manner along the cortex’s sensorimotor–association axis. Associative cortical regions with thalamic connections that take the longest to mature exhibit neurochemical, structural and functional signatures of protracted developmental plasticity as well as heightened sensitivity to the socioeconomic environment. This work highlights the role of the thalamus in the expression of hierarchical periods of cortical developmental plasticity and environmental receptivity.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Human thalamocortical structural connectivity develops in line with a hierarchical axis of cortical plasticity

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2025年7月4日

查看全文
  • Valerie J. Sydnor,
  • Joëlle Bagautdinova,
  • Bart Larsen,
  • Michael J. Arcaro,
  • Deanna M. Barch,
  • Dani S. Bassett,
  • Aaron F. Alexander-Bloch,
  • Philip A. Cook,
  • Sydney Covitz,
  • Alexandre R. Franco,
  • Raquel E. Gur,
  • Ruben C. Gur,
  • Allyson P. Mackey,
  • Kahini Mehta,
  • Steven L. Meisler,
  • Michael P. Milham,
  • Tyler M. Moore,
  • Eli J. Müller,
  • David R. Roalf,
  • Taylor Salo,
  • Gabriel Schubiner,
  • Jakob Seidlitz,
  • Russell T. Shinohara,
  • James M. Shine,
  • Fang-Cheng Yeh,
  • Matthew Cieslak,
  • Theodore D. Satterthwaite

摘要

Human cortical development follows a hierarchical, sensorimotor-to-association sequence. The brain’s capacity to enact this sequence indicates that it relies on unknown mechanisms to regulate regional differences in the timing of cortical maturation. Given evidence from animal systems that thalamic axons mechanistically regulate periods of cortical plasticity, here we evaluate in humans whether the development of structural connections between the thalamus and cortex aligns with cortical maturational heterochronicity. By deriving a new tractography atlas of human thalamic connections and applying it to diffusion data from three youth samples (8–23 years; total n = 2,676), we demonstrate that thalamocortical connectivity matures in a generalizable manner along the cortex’s sensorimotor–association axis. Associative cortical regions with thalamic connections that take the longest to mature exhibit neurochemical, structural and functional signatures of protracted developmental plasticity as well as heightened sensitivity to the socioeconomic environment. This work highlights the role of the thalamus in the expression of hierarchical periods of cortical developmental plasticity and environmental receptivity.