The development of intrinsic timescales: A comparison between the neonate and adult brain
In human adults and other mammals, different brain regions have distinct intrinsic timescales over which they integrate information, from shorter in unimodal sensory-motor regions to longer in transmodal higher-order regions. These have been related to cognitive performance and clinical symptoms, bu...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-07-01
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| Series: | NeuroImage |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811923003063 |
| _version_ | 1797812118865575936 |
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| author | Anna Truzzi Rhodri Cusack |
| author_facet | Anna Truzzi Rhodri Cusack |
| author_sort | Anna Truzzi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In human adults and other mammals, different brain regions have distinct intrinsic timescales over which they integrate information, from shorter in unimodal sensory-motor regions to longer in transmodal higher-order regions. These have been related to cognitive performance and clinical symptoms, but it remains unclear how they develop. We asked if there are regional differences in timescales at birth that could shape learning by acting as an inductive bias, or if they develop later as the temporal statistics of the environment are learned. We used resting-state fMRI to characterise timescales in human neonates and adults. They were highly consistent across two independent neonatal groups, but in both sensory-motor and higher order areas, timescales were longer in infants compared to adults, as might be expected from their less developed myelination, and recent evidence of longer neural segments in infants watching naturalistic stimuli. In adults, we replicated the finding that transmodal areas have longer timescales than sensory-motor areas, but in infants the opposite pattern was found, driven by long infant timescales in the somotomotor network. Across regions within single brain networks, both positive (limbic) and negative (visual) correlations were found between neonates and adults. In conclusion, neonatal timescales were found to be highly structured, but distinct from adults, suggesting they act as an inductive bias that favours learning on longer timescales, particularly in unimodal regions and then develop with experience or maturation. This “take it slow” initial approach might help human infants to create more regularised, holistic representations of the input less bound to fleeting details, which would favour the development of abstract and contextual representations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T07:33:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ab4a7ca576694fa1a1b40eed6468fdd5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1095-9572 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T07:33:33Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | NeuroImage |
| spelling | doaj.art-ab4a7ca576694fa1a1b40eed6468fdd52023-06-04T04:23:11ZengElsevierNeuroImage1095-95722023-07-01275120155The development of intrinsic timescales: A comparison between the neonate and adult brainAnna Truzzi0Rhodri Cusack1School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; Corresponding author at: Lloyd Building, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Dublin, Ireland.School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, IrelandIn human adults and other mammals, different brain regions have distinct intrinsic timescales over which they integrate information, from shorter in unimodal sensory-motor regions to longer in transmodal higher-order regions. These have been related to cognitive performance and clinical symptoms, but it remains unclear how they develop. We asked if there are regional differences in timescales at birth that could shape learning by acting as an inductive bias, or if they develop later as the temporal statistics of the environment are learned. We used resting-state fMRI to characterise timescales in human neonates and adults. They were highly consistent across two independent neonatal groups, but in both sensory-motor and higher order areas, timescales were longer in infants compared to adults, as might be expected from their less developed myelination, and recent evidence of longer neural segments in infants watching naturalistic stimuli. In adults, we replicated the finding that transmodal areas have longer timescales than sensory-motor areas, but in infants the opposite pattern was found, driven by long infant timescales in the somotomotor network. Across regions within single brain networks, both positive (limbic) and negative (visual) correlations were found between neonates and adults. In conclusion, neonatal timescales were found to be highly structured, but distinct from adults, suggesting they act as an inductive bias that favours learning on longer timescales, particularly in unimodal regions and then develop with experience or maturation. This “take it slow” initial approach might help human infants to create more regularised, holistic representations of the input less bound to fleeting details, which would favour the development of abstract and contextual representations.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811923003063NeonatesInfantsDevelopmentBrainIntrinsic timescalesLearning |
| spellingShingle | Anna Truzzi Rhodri Cusack The development of intrinsic timescales: A comparison between the neonate and adult brain NeuroImage Neonates Infants Development Brain Intrinsic timescales Learning |
| title | The development of intrinsic timescales: A comparison between the neonate and adult brain |
| title_full | The development of intrinsic timescales: A comparison between the neonate and adult brain |
| title_fullStr | The development of intrinsic timescales: A comparison between the neonate and adult brain |
| title_full_unstemmed | The development of intrinsic timescales: A comparison between the neonate and adult brain |
| title_short | The development of intrinsic timescales: A comparison between the neonate and adult brain |
| title_sort | development of intrinsic timescales a comparison between the neonate and adult brain |
| topic | Neonates Infants Development Brain Intrinsic timescales Learning |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811923003063 |
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