Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2025 Sep;29(9):855-868.
doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2025.04.001. Epub 2025 May 6.

A hierarchical model of early brain functional network development

Wei Gao  1
Affiliations
Review

A hierarchical model of early brain functional network development

Wei Gao. Trends Cogn Sci. 2025 Sep.

Abstract

Functional brain networks emerge prenatally, grow interactively during the first years of life, and optimize both within-network topology and between-network interactions as individuals age. This review summarizes research that has characterized this process over the past two decades, and aims to link functional network growth with emerging behaviors, thereby developing a more holistic understanding of the developing brain and behavior from a functional network perspective. This synthesis suggests that the development of the brain's functional networks follows an overlapping hierarchy, progressing from primary sensory/motor to socioemotional-centered development and finally to higher-order cognitive/executive control networks. Risk-related alterations, resilience factors, treatment effects, and novel therapeutic opportunities are also discussed to encourage the consideration of future imaging-assisted methods for identifying risks and interventions.

Keywords: cognitive development; early brain development; primary sensory motor development; resting-state functional network; socioemotional development.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of interests Cedars-Sinai has institutional financial interests in VirtuMed, LLC through an exclusive licensing agreement. VirtuMed is the manufacturer of an MRI-compatible crib/bassinet that can be used during the imaging sessions of the HBCD study.

References

    1. Rakic P, Neuronal migration and contact guidance in the primate telencephalon. Postgrad Med J, 1978. 54 Suppl 1: p. 25–40. - PubMed
    1. Rakic P, Bourgeois JP, and Goldman-Rakic PS, Synaptic development of the cerebral cortex: implications for learning, memory, and mental illness. Prog Brain Res, 1994. 102: p. 227–43. - PubMed
    1. Liu Y and Rao MS, Glial progenitors in the CNS and possible lineage relationships among them. Biol Cell, 2004. 96(4): p. 279–90. - PubMed
    1. Monk C, Lugo-Candelas C, and Trumpff C, Prenatal Developmental Origins of Future Psychopathology: Mechanisms and Pathways. Annu Rev Clin Psychol, 2019. 15: p. 317–344. - PMC - PubMed
    1. O’Donnell KJ and Meaney MJ, Fetal Origins of Mental Health: The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease Hypothesis. Am J Psychiatry, 2017. 174(4): p. 319–328. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources