Interaction of the Salience Network, Ventral Attention Network, Dorsal Attention Network and Default Mode Network in Neonates and Early Development of the Bottom-up Attention System.

Abstract

The Salience Network (SN), Ventral Attention Network (VAN), Dorsal Attention Network (DAN) and Default Mode Network (DMN) have shown significant interactions and overlapping functions in bottom-up and top-down mechanisms of attention. In the present study we tested if the SN, VAN, DAN and DMN connectivity can infer the gestational age (GA) at birth in a study group of 88 healthy neonates with GA at birth ranging from 28 to 40 weeks. We also ascertained whether the connectivity within each of the SN, VAN, DAN and DMN is able to infer the average functional connectivity of the others. The ability to infer GA at birth or another network's connectivity was evaluated using a multi-variate data-driven framework. A mediation analysis was performed in order to estimate the transmittance of change of a network’s functional connectivity (FC) over another mediated by the GA.The VAN, DAN and the DMN infer the GA at birth (p<0.05). The SN, DMN and VAN were able to infer the average connectivity over the other networks (p<0.05). Mediation analysis between VAN’s and DAN’s inference on GA found reciprocal transmittance of change of VAN’s and DAN’s connectivity (p<0.05). Our findings suggest that the VAN has a prominent role in the bottom-up salience detection in early infancy and that the role of the VAN and the SN may overlap in the bottom-up control of attention.

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“…The brain develops from the bottom up starting in the lower brainstem and with the brainstem nuclei acting as precursors to higher levels of brain development and with the ultimate development of Brodmann areas that have both structural and functional differences (Zelazo, 2015;Onofrj et al, 2022). Once there is bottom-up completion of development there then can be completion of top-down development which allows the brain and neocortex to ultimately control all functions of the body (Emberson et al, 2015).…”