Multiscale Neurodevelopment | Dr. Casey Paquola

About

The Multiscale Neurodevelopment team studies the maturation of cortical architecture, connectivity and functional dynamics across early life. By combining multi-modal neuroimaging with computational modelling, we aim to better understand cognitive maturation and psychiatric illness.

Funded by: Emmy Noether Programm

Research Topics

  • Development of the human brain from infancy to adolescence
  • Origins and emergence of psychiatric disorders in early life
  • Neural building blocks of cognitive maturation

Contact

Dr. Casey Paquola

INM-7

Building 14.6y / Room 2048

+49 2461/61-85740

E-Mail


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.1 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.2

By characterising the neural mechanisms of cognition, we aim to better understand how changes in the brain lead to psychiatric disorders. Our team, supported by the Emmy Noether Programme, is currently working on investigating these links in children and adolescence.

We centre our research on youth because, firstly, the vast majority of psychiatric illnesses emerge in youth, 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 dramatically throughout early life.


Cortical development at the micro-scale


(A) Intracortical profiles are extracted by sampling voxels along a 3D line, tracing from pial and white matter (WM) surfaces. (B) Cortical profiles represent depth-wise variations in a microstructural marker (e.g. R1). Comparing profiles extracted from the same region in two individuals (young and old) illustrates age-related shifts in the mean and shape of the profile. (C) Normative growth modelling at each depth shows distinctive developmental trajectories of microstructure within the cortex.
Casey Paquola


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.3 Building upon these advances, our team studies how intracortical microstructure changes across the lifespan.4 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,5 thereby allowing us to investigate how this organisation differs across individuals and how it matures during youth.6

We’re also working on expanding our understanding of cortical hierarchies to more comprehensively grasp the complexity of the human brain. For instance, we recently discovered that the organisation of the default mode network, which is associated with self-referential thought and is greatly expanded in humans relative to other animals, exhibits a distinctive hierarchical structure, different to the standard flow of information from sensory areas to memory centres.7 These new neuroanatomical insights are helping us to understand how human cognition is enriched by capabilities such as autobiographical memory and language.

Our Open-Source Tools

BigBrainWarp

BigBrainWarp integrates post mortem human histology (namely, BigBrain) with neuroimaging datasets. The toolbox includes (i) histological features and pre-transformed maps in BigBrain and imaging spaces, (ii) codes for performing data transformations and (iii) extensive tutorials.

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Microstructure Profiling with MicaPipe

We developed and validated a standardised procedure to generate intracortical microstructure profiles. The approach is readily applicable for MRI using the MPC module of MicaPipe, a BIDS-based preprocessing toolbox.

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BigBrainWarp integrates post mortem human histology (namely, BigBrain) with neuroimaging datasets. The toolbox includes (i) histological features and pre-transformed maps in BigBrain and imaging spaces, (ii) codes for performing data transformations and (iii) extensive tutorials.

More

Members

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

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Last Modified: 10.12.2024