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Over the past few decades, neuroimaging has become a ubiquitous tool in basic research and clinical studies of the human brain. However, no reference standards currently exist to quantify individual differences in neuroimaging metrics over time, in contrast to growth charts for anthropometric traits such as height and weight 1 . Here we assemble an interactive open resource to benchmark brain morphology derived from any current or future sample of MRI data ( http://www.brainchart.io/ ). With the goal of basing these reference charts on the largest and most inclusive dataset available, acknowledging limitations due to known biases of MRI studies relative to the diversity of the global population, we aggregated 123,984 MRI scans, across more than 100 primary studies, from 101,457 human participants between 115 days post-conception to 100 years of age. MRI metrics were quantified by centile scores, relative to non-linear trajectories 2 of brain structural changes, and rates of change, over the lifespan. Brain charts identified previously unreported neurodevelopmental milestones 3 , showed high stability of individuals across longitudinal assessments, and demonstrated robustness to technical and methodological differences between primary studies. Centile scores showed increased heritability compared with non-centiled MRI phenotypes, and provided a standardized measure of atypical brain structure that revealed patterns of neuroanatomical variation across neurological and psychiatric disorders. In summary, brain charts are an essential step towards robust quantification of individual variation benchmarked to normative trajectories in multiple, commonly used neuroimaging phenotypes., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Background: With high survival rates for pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), long-term quality of life is a prominent consideration in treatment. We concurrently evaluated cognition, behavior, and quality of life in child and adolescent ALL survivors and determined associations between them., Methods: The sample included 83 controls (mean age: 12.5 years) and 71 ALL survivors (mean age: 11.9 years, mean age at diagnosis: 3.8 years). Participants completed measures of general intellectual abilities, math achievement, and fine motor skills. Parents and teachers completed a survey assessing child participants' cognitive, behavioral, and emotional function. Parents additionally completed a survey about their child's quality of life., Results: Survivors had lower scores on measures of working memory, processing speed, timed math, and fine motor skills (effect size 0.5-1, p < 0.001). Parents identified more problems with executive function and learning in survivors than controls (effect size > 0.7, p < 0.001), and indicated a lower quality of life in all categories evaluated (effect size > 0.7, p < 10 -4 ). Reduced quality of life was associated with lower math achievement scores and with inattention and executive function problems., Conclusions: ALL survivors experience diffuse cognitive, behavioral, and motor impairments, which are associated with reduced quality of life. These findings underscore the need to address these challenges in ALL survivors., Impact: Compared with cancer-free peers, parents of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia survivors treated with chemotherapy only reported reduced quality of life. Math difficulties and behavioral problems increased the risk for reduced quality of life. Reduced quality of life is associated with mild cognitive and behavioral difficulties, suggesting that even relatively mild impairments have broad implications for ALL survivors. Screening and early intervention targeting cognitive and behavioral function may enhance quality of life for ALL survivors., (© 2020. International Pediatric Research Foundation, Inc.)

Oxytocin is a pituitary neuropeptide that affects social behaviour. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) have been shown to explain some variability in social abilities in control populations. Whether these variants similarly contribute to the severity of social deficits experienced by children with neurodevelopmental disorders is unclear. Social abilities were assessed in a group of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD, n = 341) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD, n = 276) using two established social measures. Scores were compared by OXTR genotype (rs53576, rs237887, rs13316193, rs2254298). Unexpectedly, the two most frequently studied OXTR SNPs in the general population (rs53576 and rs2254298) were associated with an increased severity of social deficits in ASD (p < 0.0001 and p = 0.0005), yet fewer social deficits in ADHD (p = 0.007 and p < 0.0001). We conclude that these genetic modifier alleles are not inherently risk-conferring with respect to their impact on social abilities; molecular investigations are greatly needed.