Charting brain functional development from birth to 6 years of age

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Neuroscience
• Pediatric Neuroimaging

Background:

• Early childhood is critical for brain functional development.
• Resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) characterizes infant brain connectivity.
• Spatiotemporal functional maturation from birth to early childhood remains under-explored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To delineate developmental charts of functional connectivity from birth to 6 years.
• To identify neurodevelopmental milestones and brain network maturation processes.
• To explore the association between functional connectivity deviations and infant cognitive abilities.

Main Methods:

• Aggregated 1,091 resting-state fMRI scans from typically developing children (birth to 6 years).
• Harmonized cohort and imaging-state-related biases.
• Delineated developmental charts of functional connectivity within and between canonical brain networks.

Main Results:

• Developed normative growth charts for brain functional connectivity.
• Revealed neurodevelopmental milestones and complex brain integration, competition, and transition processes.
• Individual deviations from normative charts significantly associated with infant cognitive abilities, particularly involving primary, default, control, and attention networks.

Conclusions:

• Functional connectivity charts provide insights into early neurodevelopment.
• These brain charts may serve as an effective tool for monitoring normative functional development.
• Early brain functional connectivity patterns are linked to cognitive development.