Functional connectivity correlates of infant and early childhood cognitive development

Abstract

Childhood is defined by the development of cognitive abilities as well as brain growth and function. While prior neuroimaging studies have investigated early development fragmentally, we studied the typical development of functional network connectivity continuously from infancy to childhood (average of 24 months) in 196 singleton term born children, as well as their emergence with age and visual, motor, and language abilities as assessed using the Mullen Scales of Early Learning. We demonstrate a cross-age shift to networks linked to higher-order cognitive processes, paralleling previous findings about developmental courses of functional connectivity networks. When investigating skill associations with functional connectivity independent of age, we revealed distinct network connectivity patterns for visual, motor, and language skills as each of them become more and more refined along childhood development. Specifically, the amount of functional networks recruited increases with skill complexity, with an exceeding involvement of higher order networks enabling daily maintenance and coordination of cognitive functions. Further, both motor and language network connectivity patterns overlapped in network connectivity patterns for the default mode, visual, salience, and dorsal attention networks, possibly implicating their overarching contribution to each other’s and higher cognitive development.