Open AccessScholastic performance and functional connectivity of brain networks in children
Author(s) -
Laura Chaddock-Heyman,
Timothy B. Weng,
Caitlin Kienzler,
Kirk I. Erickson,
Michelle W. Voss,
Eric S. Drollette,
Lauren B. Raine,
ShihChun Kao,
Charles H. Hillman,
Arthur F. Kramer
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0190073
Subject(s) - default mode network , task positive network , salience (neuroscience) , functional connectivity , resting state fmri , cognition , psychology , cognitive psychology , neuroscience , reading (process) , connectome , developmental psychology , computer science , political science , law
One of the keys to understanding scholastic success is to determine the neural processes involved in school performance. The present study is the first to use a whole-brain connectivity approach to explore whether functional connectivity of resting state brain networks is associated with scholastic performance in seventy-four 7- to 9-year-old children. We demonstrate that children with higher scholastic performance across reading, math and language have more integrated and interconnected resting state networks, specifically the default mode network, salience network, and frontoparietal network. To add specificity, core regions of the dorsal attention and visual networks did not relate to scholastic performance. The results extend the cognitive role of brain networks in children as well as suggest the importance of network connectivity in scholastic success.