Multiscale Neurodevelopment

About

The Multiscale Neurodevelopment team, led by Dr. Casey Paquola, is dedicated to the study of brain development from childhood through adulthood. The group aims to use innovative in vivo imaging techniques, such as structural and functional MRI, to better understand the healthy and pathological development of the brain. The focus is on analyzing the microstructure, connectivity and functional dynamics of the brain. Special emphasis is placed on the relationship between structural changes and the functional differentiation of the brain at different stages of development.

Research Topics

We centre our research on childhood and adolescence because, firstly, the vast majority of psychiatric illnesses prior to 24yrs, and secondly, from a scientific perspective, neurodevelopment offers us a unique opportunity to unravel the temporal relationships between neuroanatomy and cognitive capabilities, as both the brain and cognition change dramaticailly throughout early life. Our studies on neurodevelopment span a range of topics, such as:

  • Understanding cognitive maturation and psychiatric risk via multi-scale neuroscience

Contemporary neuroscience has excelled at describing where certain psychological capabilities are produced in the brain, but we lack understanding of how these regions contribute to cognition. We contend that we can close this mechanistic gap by combining information from multiple biological scales. Leveraging multi-modal MRI, as well as post mortem histology, our team studies how the microstructure, connectivity and function of brain networks interact to enable the most complex aspects of human cognition, such as the formation of abstract concepts.

  • Cortical development at the micro-scale

Cortical architecture (i.e. the organisation of neurons and glia) determines how a region processes and distributes information. Thus, the microstructure of a cortical area provides important insight into its functional potential. Recent innovations in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have paved the way for measuring cortical microstructure in living humans. Building upon these advances, our team studies how intracortical microstructure changes across the lifespan. In doing so, we’re gaining a deeper understanding of brain maturation – a complex, multi-factorial process – and we’re learning about the structural basis of neurodiversity.

  • Hierarchies of brain organisation: grasping the complexity of human cognition

The mammalian brain is often conceptualised as a hierarchy, whereby information is increasingly integrated as it flows from sensory areas towards higher-order association cortex and memories centres. Our team has pioneered new approaches to map this “sensory-fugal” axis using MRI, thereby allowing us to investigate how this organisation differs across individuals and how it matures during youth. We’re also working on expanding our understanding of cortical hierarchies to more comprehensively grasp the complexity of the human brain.

Contact

Dr. Casey Paquola

INM-7

Building 14.6y / Room 2048

+49 2461/61-85740

E-Mail
Multiscale Neurodevelopment

Group members

Dr. Casey PaquolaNoneBuilding 14.6y / Room 2048+49 2461/61-85740
Thanos TsigarasNoneBuilding 14.6y / Room 3038+49 2461/61-5890

Publications

The potential of myelin-sensitive imaging: Redefining spatiotemporal patterns of myeloarchitecture Paquola C & Hong, SJ 

Closing the mechanistic gap: the value of microarchitecture in understanding cognitive networks Paquola C, Amunts K, Evans AC, Smallwood J, Bernhardt BC

The BigBrainWarp toolbox for integration of BigBrain 3D histology with multimodal neuroimaging Paquola C, Royer J, Lewis LB, Lepage C, Glatard T, Wagstyl K, DeKraker J, Toussaint PJ, Valk SL, Collins L, Khan AR, Amunts K, Evans AC, Dickscheid T, Bernhardt BC

Yin, S., Hong, S. J., Di Martino, A., Milham, M. P., Park, B. Y., Benkarim, O., ... & Paquola, C. (2022). Shared and distinct patterns of atypical cortical morphometry in children with autism and anxiety. Cerebral cortex, 32(20), 4565-4575

Kirschner, M., Paquola, C., Khundrakpam, B. S., Vainik, U., Bhutani, N., Hodzic-Santor, B., ... & Dagher, A. (2023). Schizophrenia polygenic risk during typical development reflects multiscale cortical organization. Biological psychiatry global open science, 3(4), 1083-1093

Convergence of cortical types and functional motifs in the mesiotemporal lobe Paquola C, Benkarim O, DeKraker J, Larivière S, Frässle S, Royer J, Tavakol S, Valk S, Bernasconi A, Bernasconi N, Khan A, Evans A, Razi A, Smallwood J & Bernhardt BC 

A multi-scale cortical wiring space links cellular architecture, functional dynamics and hierarchies in humans Paquola C, Seidlitz J, Benkarim O, Royer J, Klimes P, Bethlehem RAI, Larivière S, Vos De Wael R, Hall J, Frauscher B, Smallwood J & Bernhardt BC 

Dispersion of functional gradient across the lifespan Bethlehem RAI, Paquola C, Seidlitz J, Ronan L, Bernhardt BC, Cam-CAN Consortium & Tsvetanov K

Myeloarchitecture gradients in the human insula: Histological underpinnings and association to intrinsic functional connectivity Royer J, Paquola C, Larivière S, Vos de Wael R, Tavakol S, Lowe A, Benkarim O, Evans AC, Bzdok D, Smallwood J, Frauscher B & Bernhardt BC

Shifts in myeloarchitecture characterise adolescent development of cortical gradients
Paquola C, Bethlehem RAI, Seidlitz J, Wagstyl K, Romero-Garcia R, Whitaker KJ, Vos De Wael R, Williams GB, NSPN Consortium, Vértes PE, Margulies DS, Bernhardt BC & Bullmore, ET 

Targeting Age-Related Difference in Brain and Cognition with Multimodal Imaging and Connectome Topography Profiling Lowe A, Paquola C, Vos de Wael R, Girn M, Larivière S, Tavakol S, Caldairou B, Royer J, Schrader D, Bernasconi A, Bernasconi N, Spreng N & Bernhardt BC

Microstructural and functional gradients are increasingly dissociated in transmodal cortices Paquola C, Vos De Wael R, Wagstyl K, Bethlehem R, Hong SJ, Seidlitz J, Evans AC, Mišić B, Bullmore E, Margulies DS, Smallwood J & Bernhardt BC

Last Modified: 18.10.2024