{
  "abstract": "Brain network formation unfolds on a nonuniform developmental timetable, with different cortical regions generating connections at different developmental phases. Generative network models (GNMs) aim to uncover the principles underpinning the organization of connectomes by creating synthetic networks according to simple computational rules. These models capture the connectome's topology, operationalized here as the cumulative distributions of network metrics (e.g., modularity, small-worldness, rich-club structure). However, GNMs typically ignore the differential timing of connectivity formation, and by omitting this temporal programme they often misplace topological features in physical space. Here, we add a heterochronous growth term to GNMs and use a model fitness function that weighs topology and topography equally. Topography refers to the spatial embedding of the network-the actual anatomical positions of the axonal tracts. With these advances, we can generate synthetic networks that more faithfully reproduce the spatial layout of diffusion-MRI connectomes from two independent adult cohorts. Compared with classical, temporally agnostic models, heterochronous simulations improve model fit, accurately locate cortical hubs and modules across individuals, and converge on a single caudal-to-rostral gradient of brain maturation. Overall, integrating heterochronicity makes GNMs more faithful to brain development, and allows for better identification of individual differences in network formation.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 7EF, United Kingdom.",
    "Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0SZ, United Kingdom.",
    "Developmental Imaging, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne, Melbourne VIC 3052, Australia.",
    "Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash Biomedical Imaging, Monash University, Clayton, Melbourne, VIC 3800, Australia.",
    "School of Academic Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Francesco Poli",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9841-0056"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Stuart Oldham",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-9619-6102"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Alexa Mousley"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Edward T Bullmore",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-8955-8283"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Petra E Vértes",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-0992-3210"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Duncan E Astle"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/39qm3majh44ey.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1073/pnas.2610400123",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13684247",
  "id": "39qm3majh44ey",
  "issns": [
    "0027-8424",
    "1091-6490"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42863075",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2805|Functional Brain Connectivity Studies"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221522656",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13684247?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13684247",
  "pmid": "42863075",
  "published": "2026-10-12",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/39qm3majh44ey.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:19:00Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42863075",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42863075"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:2805|Functional Brain Connectivity Studies",
      "subfield": "neuroscience"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Heterochronicity shapes brain network formation.",
  "title_text": "Heterochronicity shapes brain network formation.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:19:00Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/39qm3majh44ey",
  "venue": "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America",
  "versions": []
}