Apparent thinning of human visual cortex during childhood is associated with myelination

Significance MRI data suggest that the thickness of the human cortex appears to decrease during childhood development. However, the underlying microstructural mechanisms are unknown. Using multiple quantitative neuroimaging methods that are sensitive to microstructural tissue content, we found that gray matter tissue and its adjacent white matter in high-level visual cortex show tissue growth related to myelination. Increased myelin alters the...