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Modeling the effect of brain growth on cranial bones using finite-element analysis and geometric morphometrics

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Abstract

Purpose

Brain expansion during ontogeny has been identified as a key factor for explaining the growth pattern of neurocranial bones. However, the dynamics of this relation are only partially understood and a detailed characterization of integrated morphological changes of the brain and the neurocranium along ontogeny is still lacking. The aim of this study was to model the effect of brain growth on cranial bones by means of finite-element analysis (FEA) and geometric morphometric techniques.

Methods

First, we described the postnatal changes in brain size and shape by digitizing coordinates of 3D semilandmarks on cranial endocasts, as a proxy of brain, segmented from CT-scans of an ontogenetic sample. Then, two scenarios of brain growth were simulated: one in which brain volume increases with the same magnitude in all directions, and other that includes the information on the relative expansion of brain regions obtained from morphometric analysis.

Results

Results indicate that in the first model, in which a uniform pressure is applied, the largest displacements were localized in the sutures, especially in the anterior and posterior fontanels, as well as the metopic suture. When information of brain relative growth was introduced into the model, displacements were also concentrated in the lambda region although the values along both sides of the neurocranium (parietal and temporal bones) were larger than under the first scenario.

Conclusion

In sum, we propose a realistic approach to the use of FEA based on morphometric data that offered different results to more simplified models.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr. Joan Richtsmeier for image sharing. This work was funded by the Universidad Nacional de La Plata PI 792 and 787), the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET, PIP 0729) and the Agencia Nacional para la Promoción de la Ciencia y Tecnología (ANPCyT, PICT 2134 and PICT 1810). J.M.-N. was supported by the DFG, German Research Foundation, KA 1525/9-2 and acknowledges the CERCA programme (Generalitat de Catalunya).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas, La Plata, Argentina

    Jimena Barbeito-Andrés, Valeria Bernal & Paula N. Gonzalez

  2. ENyS, Estudios en Neurociencias y Sistemas Complejos, CONICET-HEC-UNAJ, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Jimena Barbeito-Andrés & Paula N. Gonzalez

  3. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata, Argentina

    Noelia Bonfili & Valeria Bernal

  4. Centrum für Naturkunde, University of Hamburg, Martin-Luter-King-Platz 3, 20146, Hamburg, Germany

    Jordi Marcé Nogué

  5. Institut Català de Paleontologia M. Crusafont, Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193, Barcelona, Spain

    Jordi Marcé Nogué

Authors
  1. Jimena Barbeito-Andrés
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  2. Noelia Bonfili
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  3. Jordi Marcé Nogué
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  4. Valeria Bernal
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  5. Paula N. Gonzalez
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Contributions

JB-A project development, data analysis (geometric morphometrics), manuscript writing. NB data collection (endocasts’ reconstructions and digitization of landmarks and semilandmarks). JMN data analysis (finite-element analysis). VB project development, manuscript writing. PNG project development and supervision, data analysis (geometric morphometrics), manuscript writing.

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Correspondence to Paula N. Gonzalez.

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Barbeito-Andrés, J., Bonfili, N., Nogué, J.M. et al. Modeling the effect of brain growth on cranial bones using finite-element analysis and geometric morphometrics. Surg Radiol Anat 42, 741–748 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-020-02466-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-020-02466-y

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