title: Decreased centrality of subcortical regions during the transition to adolescence: a functional connectivity study.
abstract: Investigations of brain maturation processes are a key step to understand the cognitive and emotional changes of adolescence. Although structural imaging findings have delineated clear brain developmental trajectories for typically developing individuals, less is known about the functional changes of this sensitive development period. Developmental changes, such as abstract thought, complex reasoning, and emotional and inhibitory control, have been associated with more prominent cortical control. The aim of this study is to assess brain networks connectivity changes in a large sample of 7- to 15-year-old subjects, testing the hypothesis that cortical regions will present an increasing relevance in commanding the global network. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were collected in a sample of 447 typically developing children from a Brazilian community sample who were submitted to a resting state acquisition protocol. The fMRI data were used to build a functional weighted graph from which eigenvector centrality (EVC) was extracted. For each brain region (a node of the graph), the age-dependent effect on EVC was statistically tested and the developmental trajectories were estimated using polynomial functions. Our findings show that angular gyrus become more central during this maturation period, while the caudate; cerebellar tonsils, pyramis, thalamus; fusiform, parahippocampal and inferior semilunar lobe become less central. In conclusion, we report a novel finding of an increasing centrality of the angular gyrus during the transition to adolescence, with a decreasing centrality of many subcortical and cerebellar regions.
authors.affiliation: Center of Mathematics, Computation and Cognition, Universidade Federal do ABC, Santo Andre, Brazil; Interdisciplinary Lab for Clinical Neurosciences (LiNC), Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil; National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Brazil. Electronic address: joao.sato@ufabc.edu.br.
authors.forename: João Ricardo
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil; National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Brazil.
authors.forename: Giovanni Abrahão
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Salum
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Lab for Clinical Neurosciences (LiNC), Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil; National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ary
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gadelha
authors.affiliation: Bioinformatics Program, Institute of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil; Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Gilson
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vieira
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Lab for Clinical Neurosciences (LiNC), Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil; National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Brazil.
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zugman
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil; National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Brazil.
authors.forename: Felipe Almeida
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Picon
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Lab for Clinical Neurosciences (LiNC), Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil; National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Brazil.
authors.forename: Pedro Mario
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Lab for Clinical Neurosciences (LiNC), Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil; Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil; National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marcelo Queiroz
authors.initials: MQ
authors.lastname: Hoexter
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil; National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Brazil.
authors.forename: Mauricio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Anés
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Lab for Clinical Neurosciences (LiNC), Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil; National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luciana Monteiro
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Moura
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Lab for Clinical Neurosciences (LiNC), Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil; National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marco Antonio Gomes
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Del'Aquilla
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Crossley
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Edson
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Amaro Junior
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mcguire
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Lab for Clinical Neurosciences (LiNC), Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil; National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Brazil.
authors.forename: Acioly L T
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Lacerda
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil; National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luis Augusto
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Rohde
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil; National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Brazil.
authors.forename: Euripedes Constantino
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Miguel
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Lab for Clinical Neurosciences (LiNC), Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil; National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Brazil.
authors.forename: Andrea Parolin
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Jackowski
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Lab for Clinical Neurosciences (LiNC), Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil; National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rodrigo Affonseca
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Bressan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology*; D012923:Social Class
keywords: Children; Graph; Networks; Neurodevelopment; Neuroimaging