RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Development of Thalamocortical Connectivity during Infancy and Its Cognitive Correlations
JF The Journal of Neuroscience
JO J. Neurosci.
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP 9067
OP 9075
DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0796-14.2014
VO 34
IS 27
A1 Sarael Alcauter
A1 Weili Lin
A1 J. Keith Smith
A1 Sarah J. Short
A1 Barbara D. Goldman
A1 J. Steven Reznick
A1 John H. Gilmore
A1 Wei Gao
YR 2014
UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/34/27/9067.abstract
AB Although commonly viewed as a sensory information relay center, the thalamus has been increasingly recognized as an essential node in various higher-order cognitive circuits, and the underlying thalamocortical interaction mechanism has attracted increasing scientific interest. However, the development of thalamocortical connections and how such development relates to cognitive processes during the earliest stages of life remain largely unknown. Leveraging a large human pediatric sample (N = 143) with longitudinal resting-state fMRI scans and cognitive data collected during the first 2 years of life, we aimed to characterize the age-dependent development of thalamocortical connectivity patterns by examining the functional relationship between the thalamus and nine cortical functional networks and determine the correlation between thalamocortical connectivity and cognitive performance at ages 1 and 2 years. Our results revealed that the thalamus–sensorimotor and thalamus–salience connectivity networks were already present in neonates, whereas the thalamus–medial visual and thalamus–default mode network connectivity emerged later, at 1 year of age. More importantly, brain–behavior analyses based on the Mullen Early Learning Composite Score and visual–spatial working memory performance measured at 1 and 2 years of age highlighted significant correlations with the thalamus–salience network connectivity. These results provide new insights into the understudied early functional brain development process and shed light on the behavioral importance of the emerging thalamocortical connectivity during infancy.