Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Brain charts have emerged as a highly useful approach for understanding brain development and aging on the basis of brain imaging and have shown substantial utility in describing typical and atypical brain development with respect to a given reference model. However, all existing models are fundamentally cross-sectional and cannot capture change over time at the individual level. We address this using velocity centiles, which directly map change over time and can be overlaid onto cross-sectionally derived population centiles. We demonstrate this by modelling rates of change for 24,062 scans from 10,795 healthy individuals with up to 8 longitudinal measurements across the lifespan. We provide a method to detect individual deviations from a stable trajectory, generalising the notion of 'thrive lines', which are used in pediatric medicine to declare 'failure to thrive'. Using this approach, we predict transition from mild cognitive impairment to dementia more accurately than by using either time point alone, replicated across two datasets. Last, by taking into account multiple time points, we improve the sensitivity of velocity models for predicting the future trajectory of brain change. This highlights the value of predicting change over time and makes a fundamental step towards precision medicine.
Source: PubMed
Authors: Bayer, Johanna M. M., de Boer, Augustijn A. A., Rehak-Bucova, Barbora, Fraza, Charlotte J., Banaschewski, Tobias, Barker, Gareth J., Bokde, Arun L. W., Bruehl, Ruediger, Desrivieres, Sylvane, Flor, Herta, Garavan, Hugh, Gowland, Penny, Grigis, Antoine, Heinz, Andreas, Lemaitre, Herve, Martinot, Jean-Luc, Martinot, Marie-Laure Paillere, Artigues, Eric, Nees, Frauke, Orfanos, Dimitri Papadopoulos, Paus, Tomas, Poustka, Luise, Smolka, Michael N., Holz, Nathalie, Vaidya, Nilakshi, Walter, Henrik, Whelan, Robert, Wirsching, Paul, Schumann, Gunter, Initiative, Alzheimers Disease Neuroimaging, Kraguljac, Nina, Beckmann, Christian F., Marquand, Andre F.
Institutions: Radboud University Nijmegen, Radboud University Medical Center, Heidelberg University, University Hospital Heidelberg, Central Institute of Mental Health, King's College London, Trinity College Dublin, Medizinische Fakultät Mannheim, Technische Hochschule Mannheim, University of Mannheim, University of Vermont, University of Nottingham, University of Tübingen, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Bordeaux, Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, Inserm, Université Paris-Saclay, Sorbonne Université, Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Institut für Medizinische Psychologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, CEA Paris-Saclay, University of Toronto, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, Technische Universität Dresden, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Global Brain Health Institute, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: National Institutes of Health
OpenAlex ID: W7123764682