Patterns of development and formation of the fetal central nervous system integrative function in the antenatal period

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Abstract

The development of the fetal central nervous system and the formation of its integrative functions have been studied for a long time. In the middle of the 20th century, researchers paid attention to structural changes and in the 1980s to the sequence of formation of functional relationships in the fetal body and the possibilities of their assessment. Further development of technology (accumulation of knowledge in the field of embryology, better resolution of ultrasound diagnostic devices, introduction and improvement of magnetic resonance imaging methods) allowed for not only receiving more detailed data on structural patterns in the fetal brain during pregnancy, but also presenting new opportunities for expanding knowledge about its functional condition. The review is devoted to the generalization of knowledge about the development of the fetal central nervous system, the brain vascular network formation and the brain circulation, as well as possibilities of assessing the formation of the fetal central nervous system integrative function during the entire period of pregnancy.

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About the authors

Sofya R. Yusenko

The Research Institute of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductology named after D.O.Ott

Author for correspondence.
Email: iusenko.sr@gmail.com
Russian Federation, Saint Petersburg

Stanislava V. Nagorneva

The Research Institute of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductology named after D.O.Ott

Email: stanislava_n@bk.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0003-0402-5304
SPIN-code: 5109-7613
ResearcherId: К-3723-2018

MD, Cand. Sci. (Med.)

Russian Federation, Saint Petersburg

Igor Yu. Kogan

The Research Institute of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductology named after D.O.Ott

Email: ikogan@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-7351-6900
SPIN-code: 6572-6450
Scopus Author ID: 56895765600
ResearcherId: P-4357-2017

MD, Dr. Sci. (Med.), Professor, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Russian Federation, Saint-Petersburg

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2. Fig. 1. Development of the neural tube: а — cranial (1) and trunk (2) neural crest cells migrate to different parts of the embryo depending on where they originated; b — the neural crest is formed from the borders of the neural plate that folds forming the neural tube and neural crest cells will delaminate from the neural plate and migrate from the space between the neural tube and the ectoderm [3]

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3. Fig. 2. Development of the cerebral vesicles in the embryonic period. 2D ultrasound scan data [7, 8]

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4. Fig. 3. Average cortical surface templates at 23–37 weeks of gestation: а, surface of the brain; b, sagittal surface of the brain. Map data from R. Wright et al. (2015) [15]

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5. Fig. 4. Drawing of the outer (white line) and inner (grey line) contour of a representative coronal magnetic resonance slice of the cerebral hemisphere. The gyrification index is calculated from the ratio between the outer and inner contours [26]

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6. Fig. 5. Schematic representation of the embryonic vascular system in the middle of the sixth obstetric week of pregnancy. Vessels departing from the heart are represented by four pairs of aortic arches and a paired dorsal aorta. At this time, the embryo has already formed a vascular network in the cranial region, which will supply blood to the brain. 1, right and left anterior cardinal veins; 2, right aortic arches; 3, right and left dorsal aortae; 4, heart; 5, left common cardinal vein; 6, right and left vitelline arteries; 7, right and left umbilical arteries; 8, umbilical vein; 9, yolk vein [40]

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7. Fig. 6. Arterial blood supply to the cerebral cortex. Anterior, middle and posterior cerebral arteries indicate areas supplied by the anterior, middle, and posterior cerebral arteries, respectively. 1, anterior cerebral artery; 2, internal carotid artery; 3, middle cerebral artery; 4, posterior communicating artery; 5, posterior cerebral artery; 6, basilar artery [50]. ACA — anterior cerebral artery; MCA — middle cerebral artery; PCA — posterior cerebral artery

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СМИ зарегистрировано Федеральной службой по надзору в сфере связи, информационных технологий и массовых коммуникаций (Роскомнадзор).
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