Magnetic Resonance Elastography as a Quantitative and Task-Independent Biomarker for Brain Structure-Function Relationships in Adults and Children

About This Grant

PROJECT SUMMARY Understanding structure-function relationships in the brain is essential for identifying developmental delays and improving early intervention outcomes in children. Current tools like fMRI and traditional structural MRI offer some insights but are limited in their ability to reliably and quantitatively measure brain function in young populations. fMRI relies on task engagement and long scan times, which are challenging for children, while structural metrics like volume and diffusion often fail to capture the nuanced microstructural changes critical for early brain development. Here, we propose using brain magnetic resonance elastography (MRE), a novel, noninvasive imaging modality, to address this gap. MRE measures the mechanical properties of brain tissue, such as stiffness and damping ratio, which are sensitive to microstructural integrity, including cell density and glial matrix organization. Unlike fMRI, MRE is task-independent, quantitative, and capable of acquiring whole-brain data in under five minutes, making it ideally suited for pediatric populations. Preliminary studies from our team have shown that regional brain mechanical properties strongly correlate with cognitive functions, such as memory (hippocampal viscosity), language (Broca’s area stiffness), and executive function (thalamic stiffness). These correlations are both stronger and more region-specific than those observed with traditional structural measures, underscoring MRE’s potential to revolutionize our understanding of brain function. In this project, we will evaluate the utility of MRE in characterizing structure-function relationships across development. First, we will establish robust structure-function correlations in healthy young adults, who provide optimal task engagement, to create a benchmark dataset. We will extend these findings to children, examining how brain mechanical properties relate to cognitive, emotional, and language functions during a critical developmental window. By comparing mechanostructure-function relationships between adults and children, we aim to uncover how ongoing brain maturation influences these relationships and assess the feasibility of using MRE as a reliable biomarker in younger populations. Ultimately, this work will establish MRE as a transformative tool for studying brain development, offering quantitative, repeatable measures of brain microstructure that can predict functional deficits in children. These insights will pave the way for longitudinal studies and early intervention strategies that better allocate resources and improve lifelong outcomes for children with developmental delays. By integrating advanced neuroimaging with cutting-edge analytics, this project will contribute to a deeper understanding of the developing brain and the mechanisms underlying its structure-function relationships.