Cited by 255Functional Brain Connectivity StudiesAdvanced Neuroimaging Techniques and ApplicationsCognitive Abilities and Testing

Normative brain size variation and brain shape diversity in humans

Open access
Reardon, P. K., Seidlitz, Jakob, Vandekar, Simon, Liu, Siyuan, Patel, Raihaan, Park, Min Tae M., Alexander-Bloch, Aaron, Clasen, Liv S. +10 more·2018·Science

Published version of a preprint

Abstract

Abstract Evolutionary and developmental increases in primate brain size have been accompanied by systematic shifts in the proportionality of different primate brain systems. However, it remains unknown if and how brain patterning varies across the more than 2-fold inter-individual variation in brain size that occurs amongst typically-developing humans. Using in vivo neuroimaging data from 2 independent cohorts totaling nearly 3000 individuals, we find that larger-brained humans show preferential areal expansion within specific fronto-parietal cortical networks (default mode, dorsal attentional) and related subcortical regions, at the expense of primary sensory/motor systems. This targeted areal expansion recapitulates cortical remodeling across evolution, manifests by early childhood and is linked to molecular signatures of heightened metabolic cost. Our results define a new organizing principle in human brain patterning which governs the highly-coordinated remodeling of human brain shape as a function of naturally-occurring variations in brain size. One Sentence Summary A hodologically and metabolically expensive brain network is preferentially expanded in larger-brained humans.

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  • Aspects of brain shape variation within modern humans have recently been linked to naturally occurring brain size variation.

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  1. [5]Ad-Dab’bagh Y., The CIVET image-processing environment: A fully automated comprehensive pipeline for anatomical neuroimaging research. Proceedings of the 12th Annual Meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping (2006).

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Authors
Reardon, P. K., Seidlitz, J., Vandekar, S., Liu, S., Patel, R., Park, M. T. M., Alexander-Bloch, A., Clasen, L. S., Blumenthal, J. D., Lalonde, F. M., Giedd, J. N., Gur, R. C., Gur, R. E., Lerch, J. P., Chakravarty, M. M., Satterthwaite, T. D., Shinohara, R. T., & Raznahan, A.
Affiliations
  • National Institutes of Health (US)
  • University of Pennsylvania (US)
  • Douglas Mental Health University Institute (CA)
  • Western University (CA)
  • Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
  • University of California San Diego (US)
  • Hospital for Sick Children (CA)
Corresponding author
  • Reardon, P. K.
  • Seidlitz, Jakob
  • Raznahan, Armin
Venue
Science
Published
2018-06-15
Volume
360
Issue
6394
Pages
1222-1227
ISSN
  • 0036-8075 (ISSN-L)
  • 1095-9203
OpenAlex
W2806589727
Cited by
255
References
75
Citations by year
2026: 22 · 2025: 33 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 27 · 2022: 32 · 2021: 49 · 2020: 40 · 2019: 20 · 2018: 8
FWCI
17.42
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Science (publishedVersion)
  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
Funders
National Institute of Mental Health (ZIA MH002794, R01 MH107235)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
Keywords
brain shape, cortical remodeling, brain evolution, human development, neuronal connectivity, brain scaling, limbic system, subcortical structures
MeSH terms
Brain, Biological Evolution, Humans, Organ Size, Neuroimaging

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