In vivo whole-cortex marker of excitation-inhibition ratio indexes cortical maturation and cognitive ability in youth.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
; 121(23): e2318641121, 2024 Jun 04.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38814872
ABSTRACT
A balanced excitation-inhibition ratio (E/I ratio) is critical for healthy brain function. Normative development of cortex-wide E/I ratio remains unknown. Here, we noninvasively estimate a putative marker of whole-cortex E/I ratio by fitting a large-scale biophysically plausible circuit model to resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) data. We first confirm that our model generates realistic brain dynamics in the Human Connectome Project. Next, we show that the estimated E/I ratio marker is sensitive to the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) agonist benzodiazepine alprazolam during fMRI. Alprazolam-induced E/I changes are spatially consistent with positron emission tomography measurement of benzodiazepine receptor density. We then investigate the relationship between the E/I ratio marker and neurodevelopment. We find that the E/I ratio marker declines heterogeneously across the cerebral cortex during youth, with the greatest reduction occurring in sensorimotor systems relative to association systems. Importantly, among children with the same chronological age, a lower E/I ratio marker (especially in the association cortex) is linked to better cognitive performance. This result is replicated across North American (8.2 to 23.0 y old) and Asian (7.2 to 7.9 y old) cohorts, suggesting that a more mature E/I ratio indexes improved cognition during normative development. Overall, our findings open the door to studying how disrupted E/I trajectories may lead to cognitive dysfunction in psychopathology that emerges during youth.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Imagen por Resonancia Magnética
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Corteza Cerebral
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Cognición
Límite:
Adolescent
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Adult
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Child
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Female
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Humans
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Male
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
Año:
2024
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Singapur