TY - JOUR
T1 - Assessing neurocognitive maturation in early adolescence based on baby and adult functional brain landscapes
AU - Kardan, Omid
AU - Jones, Natasha
AU - Wheelock, Muriah D.
AU - Angstadt, Mike
AU - Michael, Cleanthis
AU - Molloy, M. Fiona
AU - Tu, Jiaxin Cindy
AU - Cope, Lora M.
AU - Martz, Meghan E.
AU - McCurry, Katherine L.
AU - Hardee, Jillian E.
AU - Rosenberg, Monica D.
AU - Weigard, Alexander S.
AU - Hyde, Luke W.
AU - Sripada, Chandra S.
AU - Heitzeg, Mary M.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 The Authors
PY - 2025/6
Y1 - 2025/6
N2 - Adolescence is a period of growth in cognitive performance and functioning. Recently, data-driven measures of brain-age gap, which can index cognitive decline in older populations, have been utilized in adolescent data with mixed findings. Instead of using a data-driven approach, here we assess the maturation status of the brain functional landscape in early adolescence by directly comparing an individual's resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) to the canonical early-life and adulthood communities. Specifically, we hypothesized that the degree to which a youth's connectome is better captured by adult networks compared to infant/toddler networks is predictive of their cognitive development. To test this hypothesis across individuals and longitudinally, we utilized the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study at baseline (9–10 years; n = 6469) and 2-year-follow-up (Y2: 11–12 years; n = 5060). Adjusted for demographic factors, our anchored rsFC score (AFC) was associated with better task performance both across and within participants. AFC was related to age and aging across youth, and change in AFC statistically mediated the age-related change in task performance. In conclusion, we showed that a model-fitting-free index of the brain at rest that is anchored to both adult and baby connectivity landscapes predicts cognitive performance and development in youth.
AB - Adolescence is a period of growth in cognitive performance and functioning. Recently, data-driven measures of brain-age gap, which can index cognitive decline in older populations, have been utilized in adolescent data with mixed findings. Instead of using a data-driven approach, here we assess the maturation status of the brain functional landscape in early adolescence by directly comparing an individual's resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) to the canonical early-life and adulthood communities. Specifically, we hypothesized that the degree to which a youth's connectome is better captured by adult networks compared to infant/toddler networks is predictive of their cognitive development. To test this hypothesis across individuals and longitudinally, we utilized the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study at baseline (9–10 years; n = 6469) and 2-year-follow-up (Y2: 11–12 years; n = 5060). Adjusted for demographic factors, our anchored rsFC score (AFC) was associated with better task performance both across and within participants. AFC was related to age and aging across youth, and change in AFC statistically mediated the age-related change in task performance. In conclusion, we showed that a model-fitting-free index of the brain at rest that is anchored to both adult and baby connectivity landscapes predicts cognitive performance and development in youth.
KW - Adolescence
KW - Functional brain connectivity
KW - Neurocognitive development
KW - Resting-state fMRI
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=86000513114&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.dcn.2025.101543
DO - 10.1016/j.dcn.2025.101543
M3 - Article
C2 - 40080996
AN - SCOPUS:86000513114
SN - 1878-9293
VL - 73
JO - Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
JF - Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
M1 - 101543
ER -