Deciphering Multiway Multiscale Brain Network Connectivity: Insights from Birth to 6 Months
Qiang Li1, Zening Fu1, Hasse Walum2,3
1Tri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State, Georgia Tech, and Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Biorxiv : the Preprint Server for Biology
|February 20, 2025
Summary
Understanding infant brain development requires examining higher-order functional connectivity (tri-FNC), not just pairwise interactions. Triple network interactions reveal key brain networks already established in the first six months of life.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Neuroscience
- Network Science
Background:
- The human brain is a complex, nonlinear system.
- Understanding brain function necessitates exploring beyond linear, pairwise interactions.
- Infancy is a critical period for brain development and maturation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate multiway, multiscale brain network interactions in infants.
- To explore both pairwise (pair-FNC) and triple relationships (tri-FNC) in infant brain networks.
- To determine if tri-FNC offer insights beyond pair-FNC in early development.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of an infant dataset (birth to six months).
- Comprehensive investigation of intrinsic connectivity networks (ICNs).
- Comparison of pairwise (pair-FNC) and triple (tri-FNC) functional network connectivity.
Main Results:
- Significant hierarchical, multiway, and multiscale interactions were found in the infant brain.
- Tri-FNC revealed insights beyond pair-FNC, involving default mode, sensorimotor, visual, limbic, language, salience, and central executive networks.
- Triple networks align with the classical triple network model, suggesting early establishment.
Conclusions:
- Triple functional network connectivity (tri-FNC) provides crucial insights into early brain development.
- The brain's triple network system may be established within the first six months of infancy.
- Tri-FNC capture higher-order nonlinear interactions, offering potential biomarkers for developmental trajectories.
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