Emerging Patterns of Thalamocortical Connectivity in Early Brain Development

Motivation: The thalamus, extensively connected to cortical regions, plays a critical role in early sensory, motor, and cognitive development. Despite the importance of thalamocortical connectivity and its associations with early-onset neuropsychiatric disorders, its developmental patterns in early childhood remain largely unexplored. Goal(s): This study aims to map thalamocortical connectivity and to explore typical developmental trajectories during early childhood. Approach: We used group-level independent component analysis, dual regression, partial correlation, generalized additive mixed model fitting, and a winner-take-all approach to analyze fMRI data from the BCP(0-5 years). Results: We illustrate the spatiotemporal evolution of thalamocortical connectivity and present detailed age-specific atlases of thalamocortical functional parcellation. Impact: We present the first map of thalamocortical connectivity across early childhood, showing its dynamic changes over this period. Our findings suggest a developmental gradient in thalamic function, traversing from posterior to anterior and from lateral to medial regions.