The brain is highly dynamic and undergoes complex changes across development. In healthy children, brain maturation follows a non-linear, regionally heterochronous trajectory. Maturation of both cortical grey matter and white matter microstructure begins in more posterior regions, progressing towards the later-maturing frontal areas. Cortical grey matter volume development includes a period of brain growth across childhood, followed by a decline in volume during adolescence [35]. In white matter, nonlinear increases in FA and reductions in MD are seen from childhood to adulthood [36].
