Publication Date:
2019-12-24
Description:
The protracted development of structural and functional brain connectivity within distributed association networks coincides with improvements in higher-order cognitive processes such as executive function. However, it remains unclear how white-matter architecture develops during youth to directly support coordinated neural activity. Here, we characterize the development of structure–function coupling using diffusion-weighted imaging andn-back functional MRI data in a sample of 727 individuals (ages 8 to 23 y). We found that spatial variability in structure–function coupling aligned with cortical hierarchies of functional specialization and evolutionary expansion. Furthermore, hierarchy-dependent age effects on structure–function coupling localized to transmodal cortex in both cross-sectional data and a subset of participants with longitudinal data (n= 294). Moreover, structure–function coupling in rostrolateral prefrontal cortex was associated with executive performance and partially mediated age-related improvements in executive function. Together, these findings delineate a critical dimension of adolescent brain development, whereby the coupling between structural and functional connectivity remodels to support functional specialization and cognition.
Print ISSN:
0027-8424
Electronic ISSN:
1091-6490
Topics:
Biology
,
Medicine
,
Natural Sciences in General
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