Abstract
The default mode network (DMN) is a network of brain regions that is activated while we are not engaged in any particular task. While there is a large volume of research documenting functional connectivity within the DMN in adults, knowledge of the development of this network is still limited. There is some evidence for a gradual increase in the functional connections within the DMN during the first 2 years of life, in contrast to other functional resting‐state networks that support primary sensorimotor functions, which are online from very early in life. Previous studies that investigated the development of the DMN acquired data from sleeping infants using fMRI. However, sleep stages are known to affect functional connectivity. In the current longitudinal study, fNIRS was used to measure spontaneous fluctuations in connectivity within fronto‐temporoparietal areas—as a proxy for the DMN—in awake participants every 6 months from 11 months till 36 months. This study validates a method for recording resting‐state data from awake infants, and presents a data analysis pipeline for the investigation of functional connections with infant fNIRS data, which will be beneficial for researchers in this field. A gradual development of fronto‐temporoparietal connectivity was found, supporting the idea that the DMN develops over the first years of life. Functional connectivity reached its maximum peak at about 24 months, which is consistent with previous findings showing that, by 2 years of age, DMN connectivity is similar to that observed in adults.
Highlights
Many studies have shown that our brain displays correlations between spontaneous fluctuations in activation in the low-frequency range (
The importance of the default mode network (DMN) is underlined by several recent studies that have found that changes in the connectivity strength in this network are related to many psychopathologies (Broyd et al, 2009) and Alzheimer disease (Greicius, Srivastava, Reiss, & Menon, 2004)
In contrast to other primary sensory resting-state networks that are present from birth to support basic sensorimotor functions, recent studies suggest that the DMN develops gradually over the first years of life
Summary
Many studies have shown that our brain displays correlations between spontaneous fluctuations in activation in the low-frequency range (
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