Central Sulcus Development in Early Childhood

Abstract

Mapping out the development of the brain in early childhood is a critical part of understanding neurological disorders. The brain grows rapidly in early life, reaching 95% of the final volume by age 6. A normative atlas containing structural parameters that indicate development would be a powerful tool in understanding the progression of neurological diseases. Although some studies have begun exploring cortical development in pediatric imaging, sulci have not been examined extensively. Here, we study the changes in the Central Sulcus (CS), which is one of the earliest sulci to develop from the fetal stage, at early developmental age 1-3 years old using high resolution magnetic resonance images. Parameterization of the central sulcus was performed and results show us that the CS change corresponds to the development of the mouth and tongue regions.