Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2020.10.29.360081v1?rss=1 Authors: Yu, X., Ferradal, S., Sliva, D. D., Dunstan, J., Carruthers, C., Sanfilippo, J., Zuk, J., Zollei, L., Boyd, E., Gagoski, B., Grant, E. P., Gaab, N. Abstract: Functional connectivity analyses can delineate brain organization in infancy, enabling the characterization of early brain characteristics associated with subsequent behavioral outcomes. Previous studies have identified specific functional networks of infant brains that underlie cognitive abilities and pathophysiology subsequently observed in toddlers. However, it is unknown whether and how functional networks emerging in infancy contribute to the development of higher-order complex functions of language and literacy. Employing a five-year longitudinal imaging project starting in infancy, the current study utilizes resting-state functional connectivity MRI to examine prospective associations between infant functional connectivity fingerprints (FCF) and subsequent school-age language and foundational literacy skills. Utilizing multivariate pattern analyses, we demonstrate that FCF patterns associated with language-related brain regions established during the first year of life are prospectively associated with oral language and phonological skills at a mean age of 6.5. Moreover, these longitudinal associations are preserved when key environmental influences are controlled for and are independent of emergent language abilities in infancy, suggesting early development of functional network characteristics in supporting the acquisition of high-order language and pre-literacy skills. Altogether, the current results highlight the importance of functional organization established in infancy as a neural scaffold underlying the protracted development of complex cognitive functions. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info