Default mode network scaffolds immature frontoparietal network in cognitive development

Abstract

The default mode network (DMN) is a workspace for convergence of internal and external information. The frontal parietal network (FPN) is indispensable to executive functioning. Yet, how they interplay to support cognitive development remains elusive. Using longitudinal developmental fMRI with an n-back paradigm, we show a heterogeneity of maturational changes in multivoxel activity and network connectivity among DMN and FPN nodes in 528 children and 103 young adults. Compared with adults, children exhibited prominent longitudinal improvement but still inferior behavioral performance, which paired with less pronounced DMN deactivation and weaker FPN activation in children, but stronger DMN coupling with FPN regions. Children’s DMN reached an adult-like level earlier than FPN at both multivoxel activity pattern and intranetwork connectivity levels. Intrinsic DMN-FPN internetwork coupling in children mediated the relationship between age and working memory-related functional coupling of these networks, with posterior cingulate cortex (PCC)-dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) coupling emerging as most prominent pathway. Coupling of PCC-DLPFC may further work together with task-invoked activity in PCC to account for longitudinal improvement in behavioral performance in children. Our findings suggest that the DMN provides a scaffolding effect in support of an immature FPN that is critical for the development of executive functions in children.

Population-wide cerebellar growth models of children and adolescents

“…An alternative explanation for this result could have to do with the interplay between default mode and frontoparietal networks. The default mode network has been proposed to serve as a compensatory scaffold to support executive functions in children and young adults with immature frontoparietal network 42 . Importantly, while there are suggestions of the growth patterns resembling gradient 2 proposed by Guell and colleagues, the depiction of the gradients using the LittleBrain toolbox in the current study is inconclusive, mainly due to divergent patterns in the anatomical parcellations.…”

Alterations of functional brain activity and connectivity in female nurses working on long‐term shift

“…In contrast, the left frontoparietal network mainly involves speech, semantic recognition, and cognition (Marek & Dosenbach, 2018 ; Vendetti & Bunge, 2014 ). Numerous neuroimaging studies have shown that abnormal right frontoparietal network activity might be closely related to impaired working memory and attention deficits (Becker et al., 2022 ; Chen et al., 2023 ; Letkiewicz et al., 2022 ; May & Kana, 2020 ; Tan et al., 2021 ; Yuk et al., 2020 ; Zhou et al., 2023 ). A previous neuroimaging meta‐analysis also dedicated that clinical patients with emotional regulation disorders exhibited reduced activity in the right frontoparietal network and compensatory activation of emotion‐related brain areas, such as the insula and temporal gyrus (Pico‐Perez et al., 2017 ).…”

“…shown that abnormal right frontoparietal network activity might be closely related to impaired working memory and attention deficits (Becker et al, 2022;Chen et al, 2023;Letkiewicz et al, 2022;May & Kana, 2020;Tan et al, 2021;Yuk et al, 2020;Zhou et al, 2023).…”

Alterations in intra- and inter-network connectivity associated with cognition impairment in insulinoma patients

“…The interaction between DMN and FPN is more cooperative than competitive ( 55 , 56 ), and contributes to the completion of tasks ( 56 , 57 ), memory search ( 58 ), and faster memory retrieval ( 59 ). Aberrant connectivity between two networks is often indicative of disruption of well-organized cognitive control processes, which may well head to widespread cognitive dysfunction ( 60 , 61 ). The pattern of increased ipDMN-rFPN connectivity we observe here reflects less efficient cognitive processing in patients with insulinoma.…”