Processing of structural neuroimaging data in young children: bridging the gap between current practice and state-of-the-art methods

The structure of the brain is subject to very rapid developmental changes during early childhood. Pediatric studies based on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) over this age range have recently become more frequent, with the advantage of providing in vivo and non-invasive high-resolution images of the developing brain, toward understanding typical and atypical trajectories. However, it has also been demonstrated that application of currently standard MRI processing methods that have been developed with datasets from adults may not be appropriate for use with pediatric datasets. In this review, we examine the approaches currently used in MRI studies involving young children, including an overview of the rationale for new MRI processing methods that have been designed specifically for pediatric investigations. These methods are mainly related to the use of age-specific or 4D brain atlases, improved methods for quantifying and optimizing image quality, and provision for registration of developmental data obtained with longitudinal designs. The overall goal is to raise awareness of the existence of these methods and the possibilities for implementing them in developmental neuroimaging studies.