Unveiling differential maturation of infant visual and auditory cortex through multimodal MRI and MEG

Motivation: During human infancy, the brain undergoes rapid auditory and visual system development. However, the differential maturations of these systems remain largely unexplored. Goal(s): This study aims to reveal the differential structural and functional developmental trajectories of auditory and visual systems during infancy. Approach: We utilized multimodal structural and diffusion MRI, alongside auditory and visual task-based MEG, in a large infant cohort to assess the maturation and its structural-functional coupling. Results: The MEG-based latency maturational trajectories suggest that visual system maturation may precede auditory system maturation. Additionally, cortical cytoarchitecture and auditory/visual development unfold differently, and structural maturation support the auditory and visual systems development. Impact: Revealing the differential structural and functional maturation trajectories of the auditory and visual systems using multimodal MRI and task-based MEG in a large infant cohort may provide insights into both typical brain development and brain disorders.