Brain structural and functional connectivity converge prenatally but diverge after birth
4 affiliations
- 1College of Biomedical Engineering & Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- 2Children’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Children and Adolescents’ Health and Diseases, Hangzhou, China
- 3Department of Radiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children’s Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- 4Key Laboratory of Intelligent Medical Imaging of Wenzhou, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
Abstract
Brain anatomical architecture supports its functional activity and complex cognitive processes. However, how the structure–function (SF) relationship establishes and develops during early life, as well as its underlying mechanisms, remain largely unclear. To address these questions, we leveraged multimodal MRI data from two large-scale public databases, the developing Human Connectome Project (dHCP) and the Baby Connectome Project (BCP), to characterize the spatiotemporal dynamics of SF coupling from the perinatal period to toddlerhood. Our results revealed that SF coupling at birth exhibited a spatial variation along the sensorimotor-association cortical axis. During the perinatal period (26–44 postmenstrual weeks), SF coupling strengthened drastically and followed three distinct developmental trajectories across the cortex, with sensorimotor and visual areas showing the fastest growth and the earliest plateau. After birth, SF coupling shifted toward a weakening pattern across the cortex during infancy and toddlerhood (1–28 months). These developmental changes of SF coupling were more strongly associated with the maturation of functional connectivity, which first converged toward the local structural architecture prenatally and then diverged postnatally through the expansion of global inter-modular pathways. Furthermore, SF coupling at birth, the developmental transition point, exhibited a significant association with individual differences in cognition and language outcomes at 18 months of age. Collectively, these findings offer valuable insights into the organizational principles underlying structural and functional network development during early life as well as the complex evolving relationship between them.
How do the brain’s anatomical architecture and functional activity patterns become established during early life? This study characterizes the brain’s developmental changes from the perinatal period to toddlerhood, offering insights into the organization of structural and functional networks and cognitive development.
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BibTeX
@article{zhao2026brain,
title = {{Brain structural and functional connectivity converge prenatally but diverge after birth}},
author = {Ruoke Zhao and Mingyang Li and Yuqi Zhang and Ruike Chen and Chenglin Ning and Zhiyong Zhao and Zhihan Yan and Meihao Wang and Dan Wu},
journal = {PLOS Biology},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pbio.3003927},
url = {https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3003927},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Brain structural and functional connectivity converge prenatally but diverge after birth
AU - Ruoke Zhao
AU - Mingyang Li
AU - Yuqi Zhang
AU - Ruike Chen
AU - Chenglin Ning
AU - Zhiyong Zhao
AU - Zhihan Yan
AU - Meihao Wang
AU - Dan Wu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/09
JO - PLOS Biology
DO - 10.1371/journal.pbio.3003927
UR - https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3003927
AB - Brain anatomical architecture supports its functional activity and complex cognitive processes. However, how the structure–function (SF) relationship establishes and develops during early life, as well as its underlying mechanisms, remain largely unclear. To address these questions, we leveraged multimodal MRI data from two large-scale public databases, the developing Human Connectome Project (dHCP) and the Baby Connectome Project (BCP), to characterize the spatiotemporal dynamics of SF coupling from the perinatal period to toddlerhood. Our results revealed that SF coupling at birth exhibited a spatial variation along the sensorimotor-association cortical axis. During the perinatal period (26–44 postmenstrual weeks), SF coupling strengthened drastically and followed three distinct developmental trajectories across the cortex, with sensorimotor and visual areas showing the fastest growth and the earliest plateau. After birth, SF coupling shifted toward a weakening pattern across the cortex during infancy and toddlerhood (1–28 months). These developmental changes of SF coupling were more strongly associated with the maturation of functional connectivity, which first converged toward the local structural architecture prenatally and then diverged postnatally through the expansion of global inter-modular pathways. Furthermore, SF coupling at birth, the developmental transition point, exhibited a significant association with individual differences in cognition and language outcomes at 18 months of age. Collectively, these findings offer valuable insights into the organizational principles underlying structural and functional network development during early life as well as the complex evolving relationship between them. How do the brain’s anatomical architecture and functional activity patterns become established during early life? This study characterizes the brain’s developmental changes from the perinatal period to toddlerhood, offering insights into the organization of structural and functional networks and cognitive development.
SN - 1545-7885
ER -