Distance-dependent changes in functional connectivity in neonatal brain

The present study aimed to explore functional connectivity changes with anatomical distance in neonatal brain by using the second dHCP resting-state fMRI dataset. We calculated distance-dependent functional connectivity density (FCD) maps to test for the effect of age, preterm-birth, and gender. Results found that the FCD in neonatal brains showed distance-dependent changes with PMA, in which the short- and long-range FCD changes were associated with maternal environment and postnatal experience, respectively. Moreover, the preterm- and term-born infants showed different patterns in short- and long-range FCD. These findings suggested distance-dependent changes in functional connectivity in neonatal brain during early development.