ABSTRACT
Importance: Mental illnesses are a leading cause of disability globally, and functional disability is often in part caused by cognitive impairments across psychiatric disorders. However, studies have consistently reported seemingly opposite findings regarding the association between cognition and psychiatric symptoms. Objective: To determine if the association between general cognition and mental health symptoms diverges at different symptom severities in children. Design, Setting, and Participants: A total of 5175 children with complete data at 2 time points assessed 2 years apart (aged 9 to 11 years at the first assessment) from the ongoing Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) study were evaluated for a general cognition factor and mental health symptoms from September 2016 to August 2020 at 21 sites across the US. Polynomial and generalized additive models afforded derivation of continuous associations between cognition and psychiatric symptoms across different ranges of symptom severity. Data were analyzed from December 2022 to April 2024. Main Outcomes and Measures: Aggregate cognitive test scores (general cognition) were primarily evaluated in relation to total and subscale-specific symptoms reported from the Child Behavioral Checklist. Results: The sample included 5175 children (2713 male [52.4%] and 2462 female [47.6%]; mean [SD] age, 10.9 [1.18] years). Previously reported mixed findings regarding the association between general cognition and symptoms may consist of several underlying, opposed associations that depend on the class and severity of symptoms. Linear models recovered differing associations between general cognition and mental health symptoms, depending on the range of symptom severities queried. Nonlinear models confirm that internalizing symptoms were significantly positively associated with cognition at low symptom burdens higher cognition = more symptoms) and significantly negatively associated with cognition at high symptom burdens. Conclusions and Relevance: The association between mental health symptoms and general cognition in this study was nonlinear. Internalizing symptoms were both positively and negatively associated with general cognition at a significant level, depending on the range of symptom severities queried in the analysis sample. These results appear to reconcile mixed findings in prior studies, which implicitly assume that symptom severity tracks linearly with cognitive ability across the entire spectrum of mental health. As the association between cognition and symptoms may be opposite in low vs high symptom severity samples, these results reveal the necessity of clinical enrichment in studies of cognitive impairment.
ABSTRACT
Neuroimaging research has uncovered a multitude of neural abnormalities associated with psychopathology, but few prediction-based studies have been conducted during adolescence, and even fewer used neurobiological features that were extracted across multiple neuroimaging modalities. This gap in the literature is critical, as deriving accurate brain-based models of psychopathology is an essential step towards understanding key neural mechanisms and identifying high-risk individuals. As such, we trained adaptive tree-boosting algorithms on multimodal neuroimaging features from the Lifespan Human Connectome Developmental (HCP-D) sample that contained 956 participants between the ages of 8 to 22 years old. Our feature space consisted of 1037 anatomical, 1090 functional, and 192 diffusion MRI features, which were used to derive models that separately predicted internalizing symptoms, externalizing symptoms, and the general psychopathology factor. We found that multimodal models were the most accurate, but all brain-based models of psychopathology yielded out-of-sample predictions that were weakly correlated with actual symptoms (r2 < 0.15). White matter microstructural properties, including orientation dispersion indices and intracellular volume fractions, were the most predictive of general psychopathology, followed by cortical thickness and functional connectivity. Spatially, the most predictive features of general psychopathology were primarily localized within the default mode and dorsal attention networks. These results were mostly consistent across all dimensions of psychopathology, except orientation dispersion indices and the default mode network were not as heavily weighted in the prediction of internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Taken with prior literature, it appears that neurobiological features are an important part of the equation for predicting psychopathology but relying exclusively on neural markers is clearly not sufficient, especially among adolescent samples with subclinical symptoms. Consequently, risk factor models of psychopathology may benefit from incorporating additional sources of information that have also been shown to explain individual differences, such as psychosocial factors, environmental stressors, and genetic vulnerabilities.
ABSTRACT
Cortical arealization arises during neurodevelopment from the confluence of molecular gradients representing patterned expression of morphogens and transcription factors. However, whether similar gradients are maintained in the adult brain remains unknown. Here, we uncover three axes of topographic variation in gene expression in the adult human brain that specifically capture previously identified rostral-caudal, dorsal-ventral, and medial-lateral axes of early developmental patterning. The interaction of these spatiomolecular gradients i) accurately reconstructs the position of brain tissue samples, ii) delineates known functional territories, and iii) can model the topographical variation of diverse cortical features. The spatiomolecular gradients are distinct from canonical cortical axes differentiating the primary sensory cortex from the association cortex, but radiate in parallel with the axes traversed by local field potentials along the cortex. We replicate all three molecular gradients in three independent human datasets as well as two nonhuman primate datasets and find that each gradient shows a distinct developmental trajectory across the lifespan. The gradients are composed of several well-known transcription factors (e.g., PAX6 and SIX3), and a small set of genes shared across gradients are strongly enriched for multiple diseases. Together, these results provide insight into the developmental sculpting of functionally distinct brain regions, governed by three robust transcriptomic axes embedded within brain parenchyma.
Subject(s)
Brain , Humans , Brain/metabolism , Animals , Adult , Transcription Factors/metabolism , Transcription Factors/genetics , PAX6 Transcription Factor/metabolism , PAX6 Transcription Factor/genetics , Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental , Male , Body Patterning/genetics , Female , Nerve Tissue Proteins/metabolism , Nerve Tissue Proteins/geneticsABSTRACT
There is an urgent need to derive quantitative measures based on coherent neurobiological dysfunctions or 'biotypes' to enable stratification of patients with depression and anxiety. We used task-free and task-evoked data from a standardized functional magnetic resonance imaging protocol conducted across multiple studies in patients with depression and anxiety when treatment free (n = 801) and after randomization to pharmacotherapy or behavioral therapy (n = 250). From these patients, we derived personalized and interpretable scores of brain circuit dysfunction grounded in a theoretical taxonomy. Participants were subdivided into six biotypes defined by distinct profiles of intrinsic task-free functional connectivity within the default mode, salience and frontoparietal attention circuits, and of activation and connectivity within frontal and subcortical regions elicited by emotional and cognitive tasks. The six biotypes showed consistency with our theoretical taxonomy and were distinguished by symptoms, behavioral performance on general and emotional cognitive computerized tests, and response to pharmacotherapy as well as behavioral therapy. Our results provide a new, theory-driven, clinically validated and interpretable quantitative method to parse the biological heterogeneity of depression and anxiety. Thus, they represent a promising approach to advance precision clinical care in psychiatry.
Subject(s)
Anxiety , Brain , Depression , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Humans , Male , Female , Brain/diagnostic imaging , Brain/physiopathology , Adult , Depression/physiopathology , Depression/diagnostic imaging , Depression/therapy , Anxiety/physiopathology , Middle Aged , Precision Medicine , Young Adult , Cognition/physiologyABSTRACT
Childhood environments are critical in shaping cognitive neurodevelopment. With the increasing availability of large-scale neuroimaging datasets with deep phenotyping of childhood environments, we can now build upon prior studies that have considered relationships between one or a handful of environmental and neuroimaging features at a time. Here, we characterize the combined effects of hundreds of inter-connected and co-occurring features of a child's environment ("exposome") and investigate associations with each child's unique, multidimensional pattern of functional brain network organization ("functional topography") and cognition. We apply data-driven computational models to measure the exposome and define personalized functional brain networks in pre-registered analyses. Across matched discovery (n=5139, 48.5% female) and replication (n=5137, 47.1% female) samples from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study, the exposome was associated with current (ages 9-10) and future (ages 11-12) cognition. Changes in the exposome were also associated with changes in cognition after accounting for baseline scores. Cross-validated ridge regressions revealed that the exposome is reflected in functional topography and can predict performance across cognitive domains. Importantly, a single measure capturing a child's exposome could more accurately and parsimoniously predict cognition than a wealth of personalized neuroimaging data, highlighting the importance of children's complex, multidimensional environments in cognitive neurodevelopment.
ABSTRACT
Human cortical maturation has been posited to be organized along the sensorimotor-association axis, a hierarchical axis of brain organization that spans from unimodal sensorimotor cortices to transmodal association cortices. Here, we investigate the hypothesis that the development of functional connectivity during childhood through adolescence conforms to the cortical hierarchy defined by the sensorimotor-association axis. We tested this pre-registered hypothesis in four large-scale, independent datasets (total n = 3355; ages 5-23 years): the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort (n = 1207), Nathan Kline Institute-Rockland Sample (n = 397), Human Connectome Project: Development (n = 625), and Healthy Brain Network (n = 1126). Across datasets, the development of functional connectivity systematically varied along the sensorimotor-association axis. Connectivity in sensorimotor regions increased, whereas connectivity in association cortices declined, refining and reinforcing the cortical hierarchy. These consistent and generalizable results establish that the sensorimotor-association axis of cortical organization encodes the dominant pattern of functional connectivity development.
Subject(s)
Connectome , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Sensorimotor Cortex , Humans , Adolescent , Female , Male , Young Adult , Child , Sensorimotor Cortex/physiology , Sensorimotor Cortex/diagnostic imaging , Child, Preschool , Nerve Net/physiology , Nerve Net/diagnostic imaging , Neural Pathways/physiology , Adult , Cerebral Cortex/diagnostic imaging , Cerebral Cortex/physiology , Cerebral Cortex/growth & developmentABSTRACT
Although the general location of functional neural networks is similar across individuals, there is vast person-to-person topographic variability. To capture this, we implemented precision brain mapping functional magnetic resonance imaging methods to establish an open-source, method-flexible set of precision functional network atlases-the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain (MIDB) Precision Brain Atlas. This atlas is an evolving resource comprising 53,273 individual-specific network maps, from more than 9,900 individuals, across ages and cohorts, including the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study, the Developmental Human Connectome Project and others. We also generated probabilistic network maps across multiple ages and integration zones (using a new overlapping mapping technique, Overlapping MultiNetwork Imaging). Using regions of high network invariance improved the reproducibility of executive function statistical maps in brain-wide associations compared to group average-based parcellations. Finally, we provide a potential use case for probabilistic maps for targeted neuromodulation. The atlas is expandable to alternative datasets with an online interface encouraging the scientific community to explore and contribute to understanding the human brain function more precisely.
Subject(s)
Brain , Connectome , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Humans , Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods , Brain/physiology , Brain/diagnostic imaging , Adolescent , Male , Female , Adult , Young Adult , Nerve Net/physiology , Nerve Net/diagnostic imaging , Brain Mapping/methods , Atlases as Topic , Child , Probability , Neural Pathways/physiologyABSTRACT
Individual differences in cognition during childhood are associated with important social, physical, and mental health outcomes in adolescence and adulthood. Given that cortical surface arealization during development reflects the brain's functional prioritization, quantifying variation in the topography of functional brain networks across the developing cortex may provide insight regarding individual differences in cognition. We test this idea by defining personalized functional networks (PFNs) that account for interindividual heterogeneity in functional brain network topography in 9-10 year olds from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Developmentâ Study. Across matched discovery (n = 3525) and replication (n = 3447) samples, the total cortical representation of fronto-parietal PFNs positively correlates with general cognition. Cross-validated ridge regressions trained on PFN topography predict cognition in unseen data across domains, with prediction accuracy increasing along the cortex's sensorimotor-association organizational axis. These results establish that functional network topography heterogeneity is associated with individual differences in cognition before the critical transition into adolescence.
Subject(s)
Individuality , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Humans , Adolescent , Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods , Brain , Cognition , Neuropsychological Tests , Brain MappingABSTRACT
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is increasingly used to non-invasively study the acute impact of psychedelics on the human brain. While fMRI is a promising tool for measuring brain function in response to psychedelics, it also has known methodological challenges. We conducted a systematic review of fMRI studies examining acute responses to experimentally administered psychedelics in order to identify convergent findings and characterize heterogeneity in the literature. We reviewed 91 full-text papers; these studies were notable for substantial heterogeneity in design, task, dosage, drug timing, and statistical approach. Data recycling was common, with 51 unique samples across 91 studies. Fifty-seven studies (54%) did not meet contemporary standards for Type I error correction or control of motion artifact. Psilocybin and LSD were consistently reported to moderate the connectivity architecture of the sensorimotor-association cortical axis. Studies also consistently reported that ketamine administration increased activation in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. Moving forward, use of best practices such as pre-registration, standardized image processing and statistical testing, and data sharing will be important in this rapidly developing field.
Subject(s)
Hallucinogens , Ketamine , N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine , Humans , Hallucinogens/pharmacology , Ketamine/pharmacology , N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine/pharmacology , Psilocybin/pharmacology , Brain/diagnostic imagingABSTRACT
Delay discounting is a measure of impulsive choice relevant in adolescence as it predicts many real-life outcomes, including obesity and academic achievement. However, resting-state functional networks underlying individual differences in delay discounting during youth remain incompletely described. Here we investigate the association between multivariate patterns of functional connectivity and individual differences in impulsive choice in a large sample of children, adolescents, and adults. A total of 293 participants (9-23 years) completed a delay discounting task and underwent 3T resting-state fMRI. A connectome-wide analysis using multivariate distance-based matrix regression was used to examine whole-brain relationships between delay discounting and functional connectivity. These analyses revealed that individual differences in delay discounting were associated with patterns of connectivity emanating from the left dorsal prefrontal cortex, a default mode network hub. Greater delay discounting was associated with greater functional connectivity between the dorsal prefrontal cortex and other default mode network regions, but reduced connectivity with regions in the dorsal and ventral attention networks. These results suggest delay discounting in children, adolescents, and adults is associated with individual differences in relationships both within the default mode network and between the default mode and networks involved in attentional and cognitive control.
Subject(s)
Connectome , Delay Discounting , Humans , Adult , Adolescent , Child , Individuality , Brain Mapping/methods , Prefrontal Cortex , Brain , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Neural PathwaysABSTRACT
The human cerebral cortex is connected by intricate inter-areal wiring at the macroscale. The cortical hierarchy from primary sensorimotor to higher-order association areas is a unifying organizational principle across various neurobiological properties; however, previous studies have not clarified whether the connections between cortical regions exhibit a similar hierarchical pattern. Here, we identify a connectional hierarchy indexed by inter-individual variability of functional connectivity edges, which continuously progresses along a hierarchical gradient from within-network connections to between-network edges connecting sensorimotor and association networks. We found that this connectional hierarchy of variability aligns with both hemodynamic and electromagnetic connectivity strength and is constrained by structural connectivity strength. Moreover, the patterning of connectional hierarchy is related to inter-regional similarity in transcriptional and neurotransmitter receptor profiles. Using the Neurosynth cognitive atlas and cortical vulnerability maps in 13 brain disorders, we found that the connectional hierarchy of variability is associated with similarity networks of cognitive relevance and that of disorder vulnerability. Finally, we found that the prominence of this hierarchical gradient of connectivity variability declines during youth. Together, our results reveal a novel hierarchal organizational principle at the connectional level that links multimodal and multiscale human connectomes to individual variability in functional connectivity.
ABSTRACT
Hierarchical processing requires activity propagating between higher- and lower-order cortical areas. However, functional neuroimaging studies have chiefly quantified fluctuations within regions over time rather than propagations occurring over space. Here, we leverage advances in neuroimaging and computer vision to track cortical activity propagations in a large sample of youth (n = 388). We delineate cortical propagations that systematically ascend and descend a cortical hierarchy in all individuals in our developmental cohort, as well as in an independent dataset of densely sampled adults. Further, we demonstrate that top-down, descending hierarchical propagations become more prevalent with greater demands for cognitive control as well as with development in youth. These findings emphasize that hierarchical processing is reflected in the directionality of propagating cortical activity and suggest top-down propagations as a potential mechanism of neurocognitive maturation in youth.
Subject(s)
Adolescent Development , Cerebral Cortex , Child Development , Functional Neuroimaging , Adolescent , Adult , Child , Female , Humans , Male , Young Adult , Cerebral Cortex/diagnostic imaging , Cerebral Cortex/physiology , Cognition/physiology , Cohort Studies , Datasets as Topic , Functional Neuroimaging/methods , Optic FlowABSTRACT
Delay discounting is a measure of impulsive choice relevant in adolescence as it predicts many real-life outcomes, including substance use disorders, obesity, and academic achievement. However, the functional networks underlying individual differences in delay discounting during youth remain incompletely described. Here we investigate the association between multivariate patterns of functional connectivity and individual differences in impulsive choice in a large sample of youth. A total of 293 youth (9-23 years) completed a delay discounting task and underwent resting-state fMRI at 3T. A connectome-wide analysis using multivariate distance-based matrix regression was used to examine whole-brain relationships between delay discounting and functional connectivity was then performed. These analyses revealed that individual differences in delay discounting were associated with patterns of connectivity emanating from the left dorsal prefrontal cortex, a hub of the default mode network. Delay discounting was associated with greater functional connectivity between the dorsal prefrontal cortex and other parts of the default mode network, and reduced connectivity with regions in the dorsal and ventral attention networks. These results suggest that delay discounting in youth is associated with individual differences in relationships both within the default mode network and between the default mode and networks involved in attentional and cognitive control.
ABSTRACT
Socioeconomic status (SES) can impact cognitive performance, including working memory (WM). As executive systems that support WM undergo functional neurodevelopment during adolescence, environmental stressors at both individual and community levels may influence cognitive outcomes. Here, we sought to examine how SES at the neighborhood and family level impacts task-related activation of the executive system during adolescence and determine whether this effect mediates the relationship between SES and WM performance. To address these questions, we studied 1,150 youths (age 8-23) that completed a fractal n-back WM task during functional magnetic resonance imaging at 3T as part of the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort. We found that both higher neighborhood SES and parental education were associated with greater activation of the executive system to WM load, including the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, posterior parietal cortex, and precuneus. The association of neighborhood SES remained significant when controlling for task performance, or related factors like exposure to traumatic events. Furthermore, high-dimensional multivariate mediation analysis identified distinct patterns of brain activity within the executive system that significantly mediated the relationship between measures of SES and task performance. These findings underscore the importance of multilevel environmental factors in shaping executive system function and WM in youth.
Subject(s)
Executive Function , Memory, Short-Term , Humans , Adolescent , Child , Young Adult , Adult , Memory, Short-Term/physiology , Executive Function/physiology , Educational Status , Parents , Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods , Social Class , Brain/physiologyABSTRACT
In this perspective, we describe how developmental improvements in youth executive function (EF) are supported by hierarchically organized maturational changes in functional brain systems. We first highlight evidence that functional brain systems are embedded within a hierarchical sensorimotor-association axis of cortical organization. We then review data showing that functional system developmental profiles vary along this axis: systems near the associative end become more functionally segregated, while those in the middle become more integrative. Developmental changes that strengthen the hierarchical organization of the cortex may support EF by facilitating top-down information flow and balancing within- and between-system communication. We propose a central role for attention and frontoparietal control systems in the maturation of healthy EF and suggest that reduced functional system differentiation across the sensorimotor-association axis contributes to transdiagnostic EF deficits.
Subject(s)
Brain , Executive Function , Adolescent , Humans , Magnetic Resonance ImagingABSTRACT
Individual differences in cognitive abilities emerge early during development, and children with poorer cognition are at increased risk for adverse outcomes as they enter adolescence. Caregiving plays an important role in supporting cognitive development, yet it remains unclear how specific types of caregiving behaviors may shape cognition, highlighting the need for large-scale studies. In the present study, we characterized replicable yet specific associations between caregiving behaviors and cognition in two large sub-samples of children ages 9-10 years old from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study® (ABCD). Across both discovery and replication sub-samples, we found that child reports of caregiver monitoring (supervision or regular knowledge of the child's whereabouts) were positively associated with general cognition abilities, after covarying for age, sex, household income, neighborhood deprivation, and parental education. This association was specific to the type of caregiving behavior (caregiver monitoring, but not caregiver warmth), and was most strongly associated with a broad domain of general cognition (but not executive function or learning/memory). Additionally, we found that caregiver monitoring partially mediated the association between household income and cognition, furthering our understanding of how socioeconomic disparities may contribute to disadvantages in cognitive development. Together, these findings underscore the influence of differences in caregiving behavior in shaping youth cognition. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Caregiver monitoring, but not caregiver warmth, is associated with cognitive performance in youth Caregiver monitoring partially mediates the association between household income and cognition Results replicated across two large matched samples from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study® (ABCD).
Subject(s)
Cognition , Parents , Child , Humans , Adolescent , Educational StatusABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The spatial layout of large-scale functional brain networks differs between individuals and is particularly variable in the association cortex, implicated in a broad range of psychiatric disorders. However, it remains unknown whether this variation in functional topography is related to major dimensions of psychopathology in youth. METHODS: The authors studied 790 youths ages 8 to 23 years who had 27 minutes of high-quality functional magnetic resonance imaging data as part of the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort. Four correlated dimensions were estimated using a confirmatory correlated traits factor analysis on 112 item-level clinical symptoms, and one overall psychopathology factor with 4 orthogonal dimensions were extracted using a confirmatory factor analysis. Spatially regularized nonnegative matrix factorization was used to identify 17 individual-specific functional networks for each participant. Partial least square regression with split-half cross-validation was conducted to evaluate to what extent the topography of personalized functional networks encodes major dimensions of psychopathology. RESULTS: Personalized functional network topography significantly predicted unseen individuals' major dimensions of psychopathology, including fear, psychosis, externalizing, and anxious-misery. Reduced representation of association networks was among the most important features for the prediction of all 4 dimensions. Further analysis revealed that personalized functional network topography predicted overall psychopathology (r = 0.16, permutation testing p < .001), which drove prediction of the 4 correlated dimensions. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that individual differences in functional network topography in association networks is related to overall psychopathology in youth. Such results underscore the importance of considering functional neuroanatomy for personalized diagnostics and therapeutics in psychiatry.
Subject(s)
Individuality , Mental Disorders , Adolescent , Humans , Child , Young Adult , Adult , Psychopathology , Cerebral Cortex , Brain/diagnostic imaging , Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methodsABSTRACT
Prior work has shown that there is substantial interindividual variation in the spatial distribution of functional networks across the cerebral cortex, or functional topography. However, it remains unknown whether there are sex differences in the topography of individualized networks in youth. Here, we leveraged an advanced machine learning method (sparsity-regularized non-negative matrix factorization) to define individualized functional networks in 693 youth (ages 8 to 23 y) who underwent functional MRI as part of the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort. Multivariate pattern analysis using support vector machines classified participant sex based on functional topography with 82.9% accuracy (P < 0.0001). Brain regions most effective in classifying participant sex belonged to association networks, including the ventral attention, default mode, and frontoparietal networks. Mass univariate analyses using generalized additive models with penalized splines provided convergent results. Furthermore, transcriptomic data from the Allen Human Brain Atlas revealed that sex differences in multivariate patterns of functional topography were spatially correlated with the expression of genes on the X chromosome. These results highlight the role of sex as a biological variable in shaping functional topography.
Subject(s)
Cerebral Cortex , Neural Pathways , Sex Characteristics , Adolescent , Adult , Brain Mapping , Cerebral Cortex/physiology , Child , Female , Humans , Machine Learning , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Male , Young AdultABSTRACT
Mapping individual differences in behavior is fundamental to personalized neuroscience, but quantifying complex behavior in real world settings remains a challenge. While mobility patterns captured by smartphones have increasingly been linked to a range of psychiatric symptoms, existing research has not specifically examined whether individuals have person-specific mobility patterns. We collected over 3000 days of mobility data from a sample of 41 adolescents and young adults (age 17-30 years, 28 female) with affective instability. We extracted summary mobility metrics from GPS and accelerometer data and used their covariance structures to identify individuals and calculated the individual identification accuracy-i.e., their "footprint distinctiveness". We found that statistical patterns of smartphone-based mobility features represented unique "footprints" that allow individual identification (p < 0.001). Critically, mobility footprints exhibited varying levels of person-specific distinctiveness (4-99%), which was associated with age and sex. Furthermore, reduced individual footprint distinctiveness was associated with instability in affect (p < 0.05) and circadian patterns (p < 0.05) as measured by environmental momentary assessment. Finally, brain functional connectivity, especially those in the somatomotor network, was linked to individual differences in mobility patterns (p < 0.05). Together, these results suggest that real-world mobility patterns may provide individual-specific signatures relevant for studies of development, sleep, and psychopathology.
Subject(s)
Affect , Sleep , Adolescent , Adult , Brain , Female , Humans , Psychopathology , Smartphone , Young AdultABSTRACT
The brain is organized into networks at multiple resolutions, or scales, yet studies of functional network development typically focus on a single scale. Here, we derive personalized functional networks across 29 scales in a large sample of youths (n = 693, ages 8-23 years) to identify multi-scale patterns of network re-organization related to neurocognitive development. We found that developmental shifts in inter-network coupling reflect and strengthen a functional hierarchy of cortical organization. Furthermore, we observed that scale-dependent effects were present in lower-order, unimodal networks, but not higher-order, transmodal networks. Finally, we found that network maturation had clear behavioral relevance: the development of coupling in unimodal and transmodal networks are dissociably related to the emergence of executive function. These results suggest that the development of functional brain networks align with and refine a hierarchy linked to cognition.