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The Changes of the Nervous System from Fetal Stages to Early Adulthood, as Seen in Different Imaging Modalities

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Pediatric Neurosurgery Board Review

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Abstract

The embryology of the fetal brain is a complex, eloquent process that begins in the embryonic period, conception through the eighth week of gestation. During gestation, the brain shows a sequential development of transient laminar compartments, from the center to the periphery: the proliferative zone (ventricular and subventricular zone), the intermediate zone (future white matter [WM]), the subplate zone, the cortical plate (future gray mater [GM]), and the marginal zone. Neural proliferation and migration are predominant during the first trimester of pregnancy, while axon and dendrite growth and proliferation occur mainly during the second and third trimester of gestation. Subsequently, prolonged maturation phenomena are observed, with synaptogenesis and pruning mechanisms, myelination, and neurochemical maturation being the most influential [1].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Edward B. Singleton Department of Radiology, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX, USA

    Avner Meoded & Thierry A. G. M. Huisman

Authors
  1. Avner Meoded
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  2. Thierry A. G. M. Huisman
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Correspondence to Avner Meoded .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital Semmes-Murphey Clinic, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Memphis, TN, USA

    Nir Shimony

  2. David Goldenberg Family Endowed Chair, Institute for Brain Protection Sciences, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, St. Petersburg, FL, USA

    George Jallo

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Meoded, A., Huisman, T.A.G.M. (2023). The Changes of the Nervous System from Fetal Stages to Early Adulthood, as Seen in Different Imaging Modalities. In: Shimony, N., Jallo, G. (eds) Pediatric Neurosurgery Board Review. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-23687-7_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-23687-7_2

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