Assessment of morphometric parameters of the parietal lobes in children using magnetic resonance imaging

Introduction. This study is dedicated to the quantitative analysis of the parietal lobes in the pediatric brain using magnetic resonance morphometry. The parietal lobes play a key role in tactile perception, spatial body orientation, and the regulation of goal-directed movements. In early childhood, a period marked by intensive brain development, the parietal lobes undergo significant structural changes, which justifies the need for detailed morphometric analysis. The obtained data contribute to a deeper understanding of normal nervous system development and improve the accuracy of diagnosing pathologies associated with structural abnormalities of the parietal lobes, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, epilepsy, and cognitive impairments.

Aim. To perform a detailed study of morphometric parameters of the parietal lobe brain structures in neurologically healthy children to identify age- and gender-related variations.

Methods. The study included 49 children aged between 2 months and 18 years. All observations were divided into two age groups: from birth to 7 years (17 subjects) and from 7 to 18 years (32 subjects). Morphometric analysis of the parietal lobes was performed using the FreeSurfer software, the following parameters were analyzed: volume of each parietal lobe structure, surface area, and cortical thickness.

Results. Age-related changes in the volume, surface area, and cortical thickness of various parietal lobe structures were identified. Although no statistically significant gender differences in the morphometric parameters of these structures were found, there was a tendency for increased relative sizes (normalized to intracranial volume) in boys compared to girls. The data indicate complex and heterogeneous developmental dynamics of the parietal lobe during ontogenesis, manifested in both symmetrical and asymmetrical changes.

Conclusion. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of using morphometry for analyzing the development of parietal lobe structures in neurologically healthy children. The obtained morphometric measures may serve as comparative reference data for studies of structural changes in various neurological conditions. 

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