Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39844450›Full record

ArticleHuman brain mapping2025

Whole Brain MRI Assessment of Age and Sex-Related R2* Changes in the Human Fetal Brain.

Lanxin Ji, Mark Duffy, Bosi Chen, Amyn Majbri, Christopher J Trentacosta, Moriah Thomason

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Human brain mapping, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Lanxin JiDepartment of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-4509-0225
Mark DuffyDepartment of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA.
Bosi ChenDepartment of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA.
Amyn MajbriDepartment of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA.
Christopher J TrentacostaDepartment of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA.
Moriah ThomasonDepartment of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA.

Funding

8/24 The Healthy Brain and Child Development National ConsortiumU01DA055338 · NIDA · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · PI Obianuju Berry, Lauren Christine Shuffrey · 2021 to 2026
$9.4M
Examining Prenatal Inflammation and Neurodevelopment in a Longitudinal Fetal-to-Age 9 Imaging Study - Administrative SupplementR01MH122447 · NIMH · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · PI THOMASON, MORIAH E, TRENTACOSTA, CHRISTOPHER J · 2020 to 2025
$3.9M
“Overlapping and Discrete Pathways Through Which Prenatal Isolation and Uncertainty Stress Impact Maternal Mental Health and Child NeurodevelopmentR01MH126468 · NIMH · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · PI BRITO, NATALIE HIROMI, THOMASON, MORIAH E · 2021 to 2024
$3.0M
From the womb to the classroom: Linking perinatal micronutrients and toxicants to neural and behavioral development in utero and in childhoodR01ES032294 · NIEHS · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · PI MARTINEZ, MAURO, THOMASON, MORIAH E · 2020 to 2024
$2.6M
Longitudinal assessment of human brain connectome changes across the birth transition in both term and preterm pregnanciesK99HD113873 · NICHD · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · PI JI, LANXIN · 2024 to 2025
$246k
NICHD NIH HHS K99 HD113873NIDA NIH HHS U01 DA055338NIEHS NIH HHS R01 ES032294NIH HHS DA055338NIH HHS ES032294NIH HHS K99HD113873NIH HHS MH122447NIH HHS MH126468NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH122447NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH126468
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Iron in the brain is essential to neurodevelopmental processes, as it supports neural functions, including processes of oxygen delivery, electron transport, and enzymatic activity. However, the development of brain iron before birth is scarcely understood. By estimating R2* (1/T2*) relaxometry from a sizable sample of fetal multiecho echo-planar imaging (EPI) scans, which is the standard sequence for functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), across gestation, this study investigates age and sex-related changes in iron, across regions and tissue segments. Our findings reveal that brain R2* levels significantly increase throughout gestation spanning many different regions, except the frontal lobe. Furthermore, females exhibit a faster rate of R2* increase compared to males, in both gray matter and white matter. This sex effect is particularly notable within the left insula. This work represents the first MRI examination of iron accumulation and sex differences in developing fetal brains. This is also the first study to establish R2* estimation methodology in fetal multiecho functional MRI.

Indexed as

BrainIronMagnetic Resonance ImagingSex CharacteristicsEcho-Planar ImagingFemaleFetusGestational AgeHumansMalePregnancyIronbrain irondevelopmentalfetalmultiecho fMRIsex difference

Identifiers

PMID39844450
PMCPMC11754245

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.