title: Asynchronous Development of Cerebellar, Cerebello-Cortical, and Cortico-Cortical Functional Networks in Infancy, Childhood, and Adulthood.
abstract: Evidence from clinical studies shows that early cerebellar injury can cause abnormal development of the cerebral cortex in children. Characterization of normative development of the cerebellar and cerebello-cortical organization in early life is of great clinical importance. Here, we analyzed cerebellar, cerebello-cortical, and cortico-cortical functional networks using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data of healthy infants (6 months, n = 21), children (4-10 years, n = 68), and adults (23-38 years, n = 25). We employed independent component analysis and identified 7 cerebellar functional networks in infants and 12 in children and adults. We revealed that the cerebellum was functionally connected with the sensorimotor cortex in infants but with the sensorimotor, executive control, and default mode systems of the cortex in children and adults. The functional connectivity strength in the cerebello-cortical functional networks of sensorimotor, executive control, and default mode systems was the strongest in middle childhood, but was weaker in adulthood. In contrast, the functional coherence of the cortico-cortical networks was stronger in adulthood. These findings suggest early synchronization of the cerebello-cortical networks in infancy, particularly in the early developing primary sensorimotor system. Conversely, age-related differences of cerebellar, cerebello-cortical, and cortico-cortical functional networks in childhood and adulthood suggest potential asynchrony of the cerebellar and cortical functional maturation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore117575, Singapore.
authors.forename: Judy A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Kipping
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore117575, Singapore.
authors.forename: Ta Ahn
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Tuan
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Imaging, KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH), Singapore229899, Singapore.
authors.forename: Marielle V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Fortier
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117575, Singapore.|Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Singapore 117609, Singapore.|Clinical Imaging Research Center, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117599, Singapore.
authors.forename: Anqi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Qiu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000502:physiology*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012146:Rest; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: cerebellum; cortex; development; independent component analysis; resting-state fMRI