Topological organization of functional brain networks in healthy children: differences in relation to age, sex, and intelligence

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 8; no. 2; p. e55347
• Main Authors: Wu, Kai, Taki, Yasuyuki, Sato, Kazunori, Hashizume, Hiroshi, Sassa, Yuko, Takeuchi, Hikaru, Thyreau, Benjamin, He, Yong, Evans, Alan C, Li, Xiaobo, Kawashima, Ryuta, Fukuda, Hiroshi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 04.02.2013; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescents; Age; Age Factors; Aging; Attention; Biology; Brain; Brain - anatomy & histology; Brain - growth & development; Brain - physiology; Brain architecture; Brain Mapping; Brain research; Cancer; Child; Child development; Child, Preschool; Children; Children & youth; Cognition - physiology; Cognitive ability; Correlation; Developmental stages; Environmental aspects; Female; Functional magnetic resonance imaging; Functional morphology; Gender differences; Girls; Humans; Intellect; Intelligence; Intelligence - physiology; Intelligence levels; Language; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Medical imaging; Medicine; Models, Neurological; Nerve Net - anatomy & histology; Nerve Net - growth & development; Nerve Net - physiology; Network topologies; Networks; Neural networks; Neural Pathways - anatomy & histology; Neural Pathways - growth & development; Neural Pathways - physiology; Neurosciences; Nuclear medicine; Physiological aspects; Properties (attributes); Regional development; Schools; Sex; Sex differences; Sex Factors; Studies; Theoretical analysis; Topology; Vision systems; Japan
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0055347

Recent studies have demonstrated developmental changes of functional brain networks derived from functional connectivity using graph theoretical analysis, which has been rapidly translated to studies of brain network organization. However, little is known about sex- and IQ-related differences in the topological organization of functional brain networks during development. In this study, resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) was used to map the functional brain networks in 51 healthy children. We then investigated the effects of age, sex, and IQ on economic small-world properties and regional nodal properties of the functional brain networks. At a global level of whole networks, we found significant age-related increases in the small-worldness and local efficiency, significant higher values of the global efficiency in boys compared with girls, and no significant IQ-related difference. Age-related increases in the regional nodal properties were found predominately in the frontal brain regions, whereas the parietal, temporal, and occipital brain regions showed age-related decreases. Significant sex-related differences in the regional nodal properties were found in various brain regions, primarily related to the default mode, language, and vision systems. Positive correlations between IQ and the regional nodal properties were found in several brain regions related to the attention system, whereas negative correlations were found in various brain regions primarily involved in the default mode, emotion, and language systems. Together, our findings of the network topology of the functional brain networks in healthy children and its relationship with age, sex, and IQ bring new insights into the understanding of brain maturation and cognitive development during childhood and adolescence.