Myelin development in visual scene-network tracts beyond late childhood: A multimethod neuroimaging study

• Published in: Cortex 2021-04, Vol.137, p.18-34
• Main Authors: Meissner, Tobias W., Genç, Erhan, Mädler, Burkhard, Weigelt, Sarah
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Connectivity; Diffusion weighted imaging; Maturation; Scene recognition; White matter
• ISSN: 0010-9452; 1973-8102
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.12.016

The visual scene-network—comprising the parahippocampal place area (PPA), retrosplenial cortex (RSC), and occipital place area (OPA)—shows a prolonged functional development. Structural development of white matter that underlies the scene-network has not been investigated despite its potential influence on scene-network function. The key factor for white matter maturation is myelination. However, research on myelination using the gold standard method of post-mortem histology is scarce. In vivo alternatives diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and myelin water imaging (MWI) so far report broad-scale findings that prohibit inferences concerning the scene-network. Here, we combine MWI, DWI tractography, and fMRI to investigate myelination in scene-network tracts in middle childhood, late childhood, and adulthood. We report increasing myelin from middle childhood to adulthood in right PPA-OPA, and trends towards increases in the left and right RSC-OPA tracts. Investigating tracts to regions highly connected with the scene-network, such as early visual cortex and the hippocampus, did not yield any significant age group differences. Our findings indicate that structural development coincides with functional development in the scene-network, possibly enabling structure–function interactions.