Dynamic Inter-Modality Source Coupling Reveals Sex Differences in Children based on Brain Structural-Functional...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Neuroscience
• Brain Imaging

Background:

• Sex differences in brain development are well-documented in structure and function during childhood and adolescence.
• Previous research identified sex-based variations in gray matter volume and network connectivity, impacting behavior and cognition.
• Understanding how these sex differences manifest in the dynamic coupling between brain structure and function remains an open question.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the transient coupling between dynamic functional network connectivity (dFNC) and structural MRI (sMRI) gray matter volume over time in children.
• To compare sex differences in dFNC-sMRI coupling across various brain regions.
• To introduce and utilize dynamic inter-modality source coupling (dIMSC) for time-resolved structure-function analysis.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, focusing on children aged 9-11 years.
• Employed Source-Based Morphometry (SBM) for structural MRI analysis and independent component analysis (ICA) to extract gray matter sources.
• Computed dynamic functional network connectivity (dFNC) using a sliding window approach on resting-state fMRI data and calculated dIMSC by cross-correlating dFNC with SBM vectors.

Main Results:

• Significant sex-specific coupling patterns were observed: males showed stronger positive coupling in the postcentral gyrus and precuneus.
• Females exhibited stronger positive coupling in the inferior parietal lobule and middle frontal gyrus.
• Additional sex differences were found in neutral and negative coupling, with distinct regional patterns for males and females.

Conclusions:

• Findings suggest distinct sex-specific coupling in brain structure-function relationships, potentially reflecting unique organizational principles of functional networks and their structural underpinnings.
• The dIMSC method provides a novel, time-resolved approach to analyze brain structure-function coupling, offering a valuable tool for studying neurodevelopmental processes.
• This research highlights the importance of considering sex as a biological variable in understanding brain development and organization.