摘要
Brain development is one of the most fascinating subjects in the field of biological sciences. Nonetheless, our scientific commu- nity still faces challenges in trying to understand the concepts that define the underlying mechanisms of neural tissue devel- opment. After all, it is a very complex subject to grasp and many of the processes that take place during central nervous system maturation are yet to be ascertained. Despite this challenge, we have come to recognize that understanding the natural course of normal brain tissue development on both microscopic and macroscopic scales is the key to deciphering the mechanisms through which these neural networks also heal and regenerate. Realizing this concept, my good friend and colleague, Dr. Sar- ah Milla, and I decided to take on a human study to investigate brain maturation using non-invasive imaging techniques in the pediatric population at New York University （NYU） School of Medicine （Paydar et al., 2013）. Our research subjects included 59 normal infants with an age spectrum ranging from birth to approximately 5 years of age, when the brain is in its most active stage of development. We implemented a Magnetic Resonance Imaging （MRI） diffusion technique called Diffusional Kurtosis Imaging （DKI） to investigate the microstructural changes that occur in both the white matter （WM） and gray matter （GM） in the developing brain.
Brain development is one of the most fascinating subjects in the field of biological sciences. Nonetheless, our scientific commu- nity still faces challenges in trying to understand the concepts that define the underlying mechanisms of neural tissue devel- opment. After all, it is a very complex subject to grasp and many of the processes that take place during central nervous system maturation are yet to be ascertained. Despite this challenge, we have come to recognize that understanding the natural course of normal brain tissue development on both microscopic and macroscopic scales is the key to deciphering the mechanisms through which these neural networks also heal and regenerate. Realizing this concept, my good friend and colleague, Dr. Sar- ah Milla, and I decided to take on a human study to investigate brain maturation using non-invasive imaging techniques in the pediatric population at New York University （NYU） School of Medicine （Paydar et al., 2013）. Our research subjects included 59 normal infants with an age spectrum ranging from birth to approximately 5 years of age, when the brain is in its most active stage of development. We implemented a Magnetic Resonance Imaging （MRI） diffusion technique called Diffusional Kurtosis Imaging （DKI） to investigate the microstructural changes that occur in both the white matter （WM） and gray matter （GM） in the developing brain.
