{
  "abstract": "Normative reference charts are widely used in healthcare, especially for assessing the development of individuals by benchmarking anatomic and physiological features against population trajectories across the lifespan. Recent work has extended this concept to gray matter morphology in the brain, but no such reference framework currently exists for white matter (WM) even though WM constitutes the essential substrate for neuronal communication and large-scale network integration. Here, we present the first comprehensive WM brain charts, which describe how microstructural and macrostructural features of WM evolve across the lifespan, by leveraging over 26,199 diffusion MRI scans from 42 harmonized studies. Using generalized additive models for location, scale, and shape (GAMLSS), we estimate age- and sex-stratified trajectories for 72 individual white matter pathways, quantifying both tract-specific microstructural and morphometric features. We demonstrate that these WM brain charts enable four important applications: (1) defining normative trajectories of WM maturation and decline across distinct pathways, (2) identifying previously uncharacterized developmental milestones and spatial gradients of tract maturation, (3) detecting individualized deviations from normative patterns with clinical relevance across multiple neurological disorders, and (4) facilitating standardized, cross-study centile scoring of new datasets. By establishing a unified, interpretable reference framework for WM structure, these brain charts provide a foundational metric for research and clinical neuroscience. The accompanying open-access trajectories, centile scoring tools, and harmonization methods facilitate precise mapping of WM development, aging, and pathology across diverse populations. We release the brain charts and provide an out-of-sample alignment process as a Docker image: https://zenodo.org/records/15367426.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Computer Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA. michael.kim@vanderbilt.edu",
    "Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA",
    "Department of Computer Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA",
    "Medical Scientist Training Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA",
    "Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA",
    "Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA",
    "Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer's Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA",
    "Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA",
    "Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA",
    "Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA",
    "Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA",
    "Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA",
    "Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA",
    "Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science, Nashville, TN, USA",
    "Department of Neurological Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA",
    "Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, USA",
    "Department of Special Education, Peabody College of Education and Human Development, Nashville, TN, USA",
    "Life Span Institute and Department of Psychology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA",
    "Department of Family Medicine, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, USA",
    "Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, Department of Neurology, University of California School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA",
    "Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA",
    "Department of Computer Science, Park University, Parkville, MO, USA",
    "Department of Biostatistics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA",
    "Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA. bennett.landman@vanderbilt.edu",
    "Department of Biostatistics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA. bennett.landman@vanderbilt.edu",
    "Department of Computer Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA. bennett.landman@vanderbilt.edu",
    "Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA. bennett.landman@vanderbilt.edu",
    "Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA. bennett.landman@vanderbilt.edu",
    "Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA. bennett.landman@vanderbilt.edu",
    "Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA. bennett.landman@vanderbilt.edu",
    "Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA. bennett.landman@vanderbilt.edu",
    "Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA. bennett.landman@vanderbilt.edu",
    "Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science, Nashville, TN, USA. bennett.landman@vanderbilt.edu",
    "Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA. kurt.g.schilling.1@vanderbilt.edu",
    "Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA. kurt.g.schilling.1@vanderbilt.edu",
    "Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science, Nashville, TN, USA. kurt.g.schilling.1@vanderbilt.edu"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 36,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Michael E. Kim",
      "orcid": "0009-0006-3562-2688"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Chenyu Gao",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2098-3035"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Karthik Ramadass",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-4610-3860"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Nancy R. Newlin",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3714-4684"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Praitayini Kanakaraj",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-9979-217X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Sam Bogdanov",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7766-4217"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Gaurav Rudravaram",
      "orcid": "0009-0001-9087-462X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4,
        5,
        6
      ],
      "name": "Derek B. Archer",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-8638-0785"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5,
        6
      ],
      "name": "Timothy J. Hohman",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3377-7014"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7,
        8,
        9,
        10,
        6
      ],
      "name": "Angela Lee Jefferson",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-8245-0587"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        11,
        12,
        13
      ],
      "name": "Victoria L. Morgan",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-8263-2324"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        13
      ],
      "name": "Alexandra Roche"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        11,
        2,
        1,
        14,
        12
      ],
      "name": "Dario J. Englot",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-8373-690X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        15
      ],
      "name": "Susan M. Resnick",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-1115-7145"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        15
      ],
      "name": "Lori L. Beason‐Held",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9057-6270"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        16,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Laurie E. Cutting",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-2362-6028"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        16
      ],
      "name": "Laura A. Barquero",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-4279-3745"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        16
      ],
      "name": "Micah A. D’Archangel"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        16,
        4,
        13
      ],
      "name": "Tin Q. Nguyen"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        10
      ],
      "name": "Kathryn Leigh Humphreys",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-5715-6597"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        10
      ],
      "name": "Yanbin Niu",
      "orcid": "0009-0005-1199-4033"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        10
      ],
      "name": "Sophia Vinci‐Booher",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3626-146X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        17
      ],
      "name": "Carissa J. Cascio",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9560-9203"
    },
    {
      "name": "The HABS-HD Study Team"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        18
      ],
      "name": "Sid E. O’Bryant",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-0582-5266"
    },
    {
      "name": "Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        19
      ],
      "name": "Arthur W. Toga",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7902-3755"
    },
    {
      "name": "The BIOCARD Study Team"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        20
      ],
      "name": "Marilyn Albert",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-8167-8985"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        12
      ],
      "name": "L Taylor Davis",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2939-3875"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        21
      ],
      "name": "Zhiyuan Li",
      "orcid": "0009-0005-6361-3191"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        22
      ],
      "name": "Simon Vandekar",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-7457-9073"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        22,
        6
      ],
      "name": "Panpan Zhang",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-8211-5930"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        11,
        12,
        13
      ],
      "name": "John C. Gore",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-9480-0900"
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    {
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        23,
        24,
        25,
        26,
        27,
        28,
        29,
        30,
        31,
        32
      ],
      "name": "Bennett A. Landman",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-5733-2127"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        33,
        34,
        35
      ],
      "name": "Kurt G. Schilling",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3686-7645"
    }
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  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2e8gy5m4d486t.bib",
  "cited_by": 21,
  "doi": "10.1038/s41586-026-10454-2",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "2e8gy5m4d486t",
  "issns": [
    "0028-0836",
    "1476-4687"
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  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10454-2",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
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      "2741|Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications"
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  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": "PMC12247954",
  "pmid": "40654938",
  "published": "2026-05-13",
  "publisher": "Nature Portfolio",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2e8gy5m4d486t.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T13:26:54Z",
      "native_id": "W7161034416",
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      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10454-2"
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  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2741|Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications",
      "subfield": "imaging"
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  "title": "White matter micro- and macrostructure brain charts for the human lifespan",
  "title_text": "White matter micro- and macrostructure brain charts for the human lifespan",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-07T13:20:57Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2e8gy5m4d486t",
  "venue": "Nature",
  "versions": []
}