Forming Connections: Functional Brain Connectivity is Associated With Executive Functioning Abilities in Early Childhood

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies with adults provide evidence that functional brain networks, including the default mode network and frontoparietal network, underlie executive functioning (EF). However, given the challenges of using fMRI with infants and young children, little work has assessed the developmental trajectories of these networks or their associations with EF at key developmental stages. More recently, functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) has emerged as a promising neuroimaging tool which can provide information on cortical functional networks and can be more easily implemented with young children. Children (N = 207; n = 116 male; n = 167 White) had fNIRS data recorded at infancy, 3, 5, and 7 years of age while watching a 2-min nonsocial video. At 3, 5, and 7 years, children completed behavioral assessments and parents completed questionnaires to assess child EF abilities. Results showed that, although early functional brain network connectivity was not associated with later functional brain connectivity, EF was concurrently and longitudinally associated with functional connectivity levels in both networks. Overall, these results inform the understanding of early emerging neural underpinnings of regulatory abilities and point to considerable change in the composition of functional brain networks and a conservation of function across development.