Functional parcellation of the neonatal cortical surface

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Neuroscience
• Brain Imaging

Background:

• The cerebral cortex is organized into distinct functional areas defined by resting-state functional connectivity (FC).
• Existing cortical surface parcellations are not suitable for neonatal brain data.
• A standardized surface-based parcellation for the neonatal brain is lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To derive and validate a comprehensive surface-based cortical parcellation for the neonatal brain.
• To establish a reliable tool for analyzing neonatal brain structure and function.
• To advance our understanding of early brain development and organization.

Main Methods:

• Utilized resting-state functional connectivity (FC) data from 261 neonates.
• Applied the Infomap algorithm to identify and define 283 distinct cortical surface parcels.
• Validated the derived parcellation against three independent neonatal datasets.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated that existing parcellations poorly fit neonatal surface data.
• Successfully derived 283 neonatal cortical surface parcels with homogenous FC patterns.
• Functional networks identified in neonates align with previous research findings.

Conclusions:

• The proposed neonatal cortical surface parcellation accurately represents early brain organization.
• This parcellation serves as a valuable tool for neonatal neuroimaging research.
• Facilitates deeper insights into functional brain development in early infancy.