Techniques for in utero, longitudinal MRI of fetal brain development in baboons at 3 T

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a promising tool for the noninvasive, longitudinal study of developing primate brains. We developed a protocol to scan pregnant baboons serially at 3 T for up to 3 h per session. This protocol includes procedures for animal preparation, anesthesia, MRI scanning, and post-scan animal care. We applied this protocol to scan 5 baboons multiple times across the latter 70% of gestation—from as early as 56 days post-conceptional age to as late as 185 days (term ∼180 days). We successfully acquired high-resolution anatomical images and maps of relaxation times (T1 and T2) of the fetal brains at multiple time points across gestation. These images and maps demonstrated the convergence of gray and white matter contrast near term, and furthermore demonstrated that the convergence of contrast is a consequence of the continuous change in relaxation times during fetal brain development. We estimated the rates of decrease of T1 and T2 in white matter and gray matter, respectively. In addition, we measured the volumes of fetal brain at different gestational ages and calculated the growth rates of whole brain (0.91 ± 0.08 cm3/day) and cortical gray matter (0.40 ± 0.04 cm3/day). We also measured the mean diffusivity in white matter and deep gray matter using diffusion tensor imaging. In conclusion, in utero MRI of fetal baboon brains greatly enhances the use of nonhuman primate models to study fetal brain development longitudinally.