We did not preclude about the exact determination of the different phases but rather a global trend of variations

in DTI parameters reflecting physiological changes relative to WM maturation. Although the harmlessness of MR examination on fetuses during gestation has been well documented, only the clinical use of fetal MRI is ethically justifiable in humans. Reasons to perform fetal MRI are related to a pathological risk for the fetus. Nevertheless, for these Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical fetuses, conventional MRI was totally normal according to neuropediatric radiology expert (NG). Finally, a last limitation is relative to the cross-sectional design of the study that does not provide the maturation processes at the Selleckchem Everolimus individual level. However, from an ethical point of view, it appears impossible to obtain longitudinal data from the same normal fetuses during gestation. Conclusion The present study demonstrates the feasibility of in utero DTI tractography to evidence different phases of WM maturation Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical and different time courses in the myelination maturation processes occurring during gestation in human large WM bundles. DTI appears as a promising tool to investigate noninvasively

brain maturation of human fetuses. Nevertheless, Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical significant improvements in sequence design and postprocessing are required to allow a real clinical transfer of this powerful technique to characterize in utero developmental maturation and brain disorders. Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical Acknowledgments This work is supported by the CNRS.
Handedness is an important aspect of human psychology, however, its origins, neurobiological substrates, and function are not well understood.

Apart from obvious functional differences, subtle cognitive and behavioral differences have been demonstrated in relation to various handedness measures (Cherbuin and Brinkman 2006; Leask and Crow 2006; Siengthai et al. 2008) but their ecological Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical significance is uncertain. In this paper, we will review the available evidence investigating a link between handedness and short- and long-term biological and cognitive vulnerabilities, and we will test such an association in a large sample using a longitudinal design less open to bias than cross-sectional investigations. A number of competing theories have been developed to account for handedness differences in humans. A main genetic origin of handedness is widely Casein kinase 1 accepted and Annett’s and McManus’ theories of a single gene, two-allele determinant of handedness have accumulated substantial supporting evidence. Annett (1998) proposed that a gene responsible for handedness phenotype could present either with a dominant allele for handedness direction (RS+), which shifts handedness to the right or a neutral allele (RS−), which leaves direction of handedness to chance.