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Updated: Jan 12, 2026
Modeling the Functional Network for Spatial Navigation in the Human Brain
Published on: October 13, 2023
Spatial development of brain networks during the first six postnatal months
Masoud Seraji1,2, Sarah Shultz3,4, Qiang Li5
1Tri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA. m.seraji@utexas.edu.
Insights
Infant brain networks mature significantly from birth to 6 months, showing increased spatial similarity and strength. This developmental consolidation refines functional brain organization in early life.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- The early postnatal period is critical for brain development.
- Understanding neurodevelopmental disorders requires insight into early brain maturation.
- Spatial development of brain networks in infancy is under-explored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize the spatial evolution of brain networks from birth to 6 months in infants.
- To identify age-related changes in the spatial organization of functional brain networks.
- To establish a framework for assessing typical and atypical early brain development.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data from 74 neurotypical infants.
- Independent Component Analysis (ICA) applied to analyze spatial network characteristics.
- Quantification of network-averaged spatial similarity, engagement range, strength, size, and center of mass.
Main Results:
- Significant age-related increases in network-averaged spatial similarity were observed.
- Network engagement range decreased with age, indicating a consolidation process.
- Network strength increased in frontal-medial prefrontal cortex and visual networks.
- Temporal networks showed increases in size and alterations in the center of mass.
Conclusions:
- Early infancy brain development involves significant spatial reorganization of functional networks.
- Quantifiable changes in network topology, size, and similarity provide insights into brain maturation.
- This study offers a foundation for identifying atypical neurodevelopmental trajectories in infants.
Abstract:
The early postnatal period is crucial for brain development and understanding neurodevelopmental disorders. This study examines spatial brain network development in early infancy, a less-explored area. Using independent component analysis on longitudinal resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 74 neurotypical infants, we examined how the spatial organization of brain networks evolves from birth to 6 months. Our findings show significant age-related changes in spatial characteristics. Network-averaged spatial similarity, reflecting alignment between individual and group-level network maps, increased with age. Concurrently, network engagement range, representing voxel intensity fluctuation within networks, decreased, suggesting a consolidation process where voxel contributions became more uniform. Network strength, calculated as the average of all the significant voxel intensities in the network, indicating the degree of involvement in the specific functional network, increased across age in networks such as the frontal-medial prefrontal cortex and visual networks. We found that network size and network center of mass (illustrating spatial distribution alterations of brain networks) increased in the temporal network. These findings fill a gap in infant neuroimaging by spatially characterizing early functional network development. Quantifying changes in topology, size, and similarity offers a framework for understanding early brain maturation and identifying atypical trajectories.
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