Functional interactions among regions are largely shaped by the underlying structural architecture of the human brain. However, how structural networks develop during the prenatal period to support functional activity and cognitive development later in life remains poorly understood. In this study, we employed multi-modal MRI data from 40 neonates, aged 31 to 42 postmenstrual weeks, to characterize the maturation of structure-function coupling during the third trimester. We further examined whether this coupling could predict neurocognitive outcomes at two years of age. During this period, higher structure-function coupling was observed in the frontal and occipital lobes, whereas lower coupling was evident in the temporal lobe and limbic system. As development progressed, coupling in the frontal and parietal regions increased significantly, suggesting enhanced structural support for functional networks in these high-order cognitive related areas. Support vector regression analysis further revealed that structure-function coupling at birth significantly predicted the cognitive and language scores at two years of age. Together, these findings highlight the critical role of early structural organization in shaping subsequent cognitive development.
Xu et al. (Thu,) studied this question.
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