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演題：Covariance of microstructural properties as reflected in T1w/T2w ratio amongst early visual areas

情報通信研究機構（NICT）
未来ICT研究所
脳情報通信融合研究センター
脳機能解析研究室
研究員　上﨑 麻衣子

担当PI：竹村 浩昌

Abstract:
Neuroanatomy and neuroimaging research has documented particularly large individual differences in the size of the primary visual cortex (V1) in the human brain (Stensaas et al. 1974; Andrews et al. 1997; Benson et al. 2018). Subsequent studies have evaluated the relationships between the size of V1 and characteristics of other visual structures in an attempt to understand the origins of the individual differences. Their findings suggest that there is a pattern of covariance between the size of V1 and sizes/properties of other early visual structures (Dougherty et al. 2003; Benson et al. 2022; Miyata et al. 2022). We wondered whether (1) grey matter tissue microstructure covaried amongst the early visual areas V1/V2/V3, and (2) microstructural properties of the early visual areas are heritable. We analysed the 7T Retinotopy Dataset (Benson et al. 2018) collected as part of the Young Adult Human Connectome Project (van Essen et al. 2012). Results showed correlations amongst T1- to T2-weighted signal intensity (T1w/T2w) ratios of V1/V2/V3, suggesting that structural covariance amongst early visual areas is not limited to their sizes but also found in their microstructural properties. Subsequent twin comparisons revealed correlated T1w/T2w ratios of V1/V2/V3 between twin pairs. Correlations were greater amongst monozygotic than dizygotic twin pairs, indicating that genetic factors likely contribute to individual differences in grey matter tissue microstructure of the early visual areas.