Mapping developmental patterns of intrinsic timescale

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Neuroscience
• Brain Imaging

Background:

• Intrinsic timescale measures the temporal processing window of neuronal populations.
• It shows hierarchical organization across species, with shorter timescales in sensorimotor vs. association cortex.
• Limited knowledge exists on its developmental trajectory in humans.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate neurodevelopmental patterns of intrinsic timescale in youth.
• To examine if developmental patterns generalize across independent datasets.
• To understand how intrinsic timescale evolves and stabilizes during human brain maturation.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of two independent youth datasets (HCPD, HBN; ages 8-22).
• Estimation of intrinsic timescale from spontaneous neural dynamics.
• Validation using an independent healthy young adult dataset (HCPYA; ages 22-37).

Main Results:

• Developmental changes in intrinsic timescale follow a hierarchical pattern along the sensorimotor-association (S-A) cortical axis.
• This hierarchical maturation is observed consistently across independent youth samples.
• The intrinsic timescale develops along the S-A axis in youth and stabilizes in adulthood.

Conclusions:

• Intrinsic timescale maturation in youth converges with major axes of cortical organization and development.
• It serves as a principled marker for hierarchical brain maturation during adolescence.
• Findings highlight the S-A axis as a critical developmental trajectory for neural processing timescales.