Development of the human fetal hippocampal formation during early second trimester

Xinting Ge; Yonggang Shi; Junning Li; Zhonghe Zhang; Xiangtao Lin; Jinfeng Zhan; Haitao Ge; Junhai Xu; Qiaowen Yu; Yuan Leng; Gaojun Teng; Lei Feng; Haiwei Meng; Yuchun Tang; Fengchao Zang; Arthur W Toga; Shuwei Liu

doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.06.055

Development of the human fetal hippocampal formation during early second trimester

Neuroimage. 2015 Oct 1:119:33-43. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.06.055. Epub 2015 Jun 26.

Authors

Xinting Ge¹, Yonggang Shi², Junning Li², Zhonghe Zhang³, Xiangtao Lin⁴, Jinfeng Zhan⁵, Haitao Ge⁵, Junhai Xu⁵, Qiaowen Yu³, Yuan Leng⁵, Gaojun Teng⁶, Lei Feng⁵, Haiwei Meng⁵, Yuchun Tang⁵, Fengchao Zang⁶, Arthur W Toga⁷, Shuwei Liu⁸

Affiliations

¹ Research Center for Sectional and Imaging Anatomy, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, Shandong University School of Medicine, 44 Wen-hua Xi Road, 250012 Jinan, Shandong, China; Laboratory of Neuroimaging, Institute of Neuroimaging and Informatics, Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA.
² Laboratory of Neuroimaging, Institute of Neuroimaging and Informatics, Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA.
³ Research Center for Sectional and Imaging Anatomy, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, Shandong University School of Medicine, 44 Wen-hua Xi Road, 250012 Jinan, Shandong, China; Department of Medical Imaging, Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, 250021 Jinan, Shandong, China.
⁴ Research Center for Sectional and Imaging Anatomy, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, Shandong University School of Medicine, 44 Wen-hua Xi Road, 250012 Jinan, Shandong, China; Department of MRI, Shandong Institute for Medical Imaging, 250021 Jinan, Shandong, China.
⁵ Research Center for Sectional and Imaging Anatomy, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, Shandong University School of Medicine, 44 Wen-hua Xi Road, 250012 Jinan, Shandong, China.
⁶ Department of Radiology, Zhong Da Hospital, Southeast University School of Clinical Medicine, 210009 Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
⁷ Laboratory of Neuroimaging, Institute of Neuroimaging and Informatics, Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA. Electronic address: toga@loni.usc.edu.
⁸ Research Center for Sectional and Imaging Anatomy, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, Shandong University School of Medicine, 44 Wen-hua Xi Road, 250012 Jinan, Shandong, China. Electronic address: liusw@sdu.edu.cn.

Abstract

Development of the fetal hippocampal formation has been difficult to fully describe because of rapid changes in its shape during the fetal period. The aims of this study were to: (1) segment the fetal hippocampal formation using 7.0 T MR images from 41 specimens with gestational ages ranging from 14 to 22 weeks and (2) reveal the developmental course of the fetal hippocampal formation using volume and shape analyses. Differences in hemispheric volume were observed, with the right hippocampi being larger than the left. Absolute volume changes showed a linear increase, while relative volume changes demonstrated an inverted-U shape trend during this period. Together these exhibited a variable developmental rate among different regions of the fetal brain. Different sub-regional growth of the fetal hippocampal formation was specifically observed using shape analysis. The fetal hippocampal formation possessed a prominent medial-lateral bidirectional shape growth pattern during its rotation process. Our results provide additional insight into 3D hippocampal morphology in the assessment of fetal brain development and can be used as a reference for future hippocampal studies.

Keywords: Fetal brain development; High resolution MRI; Hippocampal formation; Shape analysis.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Female
Gestational Age
Hippocampus / embryology*
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Pregnancy
Pregnancy Trimester, Second

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding