Learning environments are associated with age-related differences in thalamocortical attention circuits in childhood

The thalamus plays a central role in sensory gating and large-scale cortical communication, but its developmental organization in relation to real-world learning environments has rarely been examined. Here, we analyzed resting-state fMRI data from 72 children aged 4–15 years enrolled in Montessori or traditional classrooms. Using a data-driven parcellation approach based on voxelwise functional connectivity, we identified five spatially coherent thalamic territories with distinct large-scale connectivity profiles, primarily linked to visual, sensorimotor, and attention networks. In a thalamic territory preferentially coupled to the ventral attention system, Montessori enrollment was associated with stronger thalamocortical connectivity and a stronger positive association between age and FC. No clusters showed enhanced connectivity with executive-control or default-mode networks, consistent with their later maturation. Together, these findings suggest that schooling context co-varies with the developmental refinement of thalamic circuits supporting salience detection and the selective prioritization of information during learning. Because the design is cross-sectional and families self-select into schools, causal direction cannot be inferred and unmeasured family-level factors (e.g., parental values, home learning environment) may contribute to these associations. Nonetheless, the results identify a tractable neural pathway through which everyday learning environments may relate to developing brain systems underlying attention and adaptive behaviour.