Quantification of Cortical Surface Convolution in the Developing Ferret and Human Infant

The human cerebral cortex undergoes folding from the 5th fetal month into the first post-natal year. Disturbances of folding have serious and lasting consequences, but the mechanism is not well understood. Van Essen [1] has hypothesized that axonal tension between strongly interconnected regions draws them together and induces outward folds. However, no direct measurements have confirmed this theory. As measures of shape, cortical curvature and sulcal depth changes during development can help provide insight into underlying mechanisms of growth.