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FIG 6. Maturational decreases of the three diffusion tensor eigenvalues ({lambda}max, {lambda}int, {lambda}min) in the thalamus for 161 participants of postconceptional ages 7 months to 12 years. Vertical dashed line indicates age of normal term birth: 40 gestational weeks. Solid lines through data are theoretical predictions for the age-varying values of {lambda}max (top line), {lambda}int (middle line), and {lambda}min (bottom line) from Monte Carlo simulation of a spherical diffusion model, to which the age-dependent parameters and SNR are given as input (see Methods for details of the theoretical model).

A, Values of {lambda}max (open inverted triangles), {lambda}int (closed circles), and {lambda}min (open squares) are in 10-3 mm2/s.

B, Each eigenvalue is expressed in terms of its fraction of the trace of the diffusion tensor Trace(D), where Trace(D) is the sum of the three eigenvalues.