Development of the Functional Connectome Topology in Adolescence: Evidence from Topological Data Analysis

Abstract

Adolescence is a crucial developmental period in terms of behavior and mental health. Therefore, understanding how the brain develops during this stage is a fundamental challenge for neuroscience. Recent studies have modeled the brain as a network or connectome, mainly applying measures from graph theory, showing a change in its functional organization, such as an increase in its segregation and integration. Topological Data Analysis (TDA) complements such modeling by extracting high-dimensional features across the whole range of connectivity values instead of exploring a fixed set of connections. This study inquires into the developmental trajectories of such properties using a longitudinal sample of typically developing human participants (N = 98; 53/45 female/male; 6.7–18.1 years), applying TDA to their functional connectomes. In addition, we explore the effect of puberty on individual developmental trajectories. Results showed that the adolescent brain has a more distributed topology structure compared with random networks but is more densely connected at the local level. Furthermore, developmental effects showed nonlinear trajectories for the topology of the whole brain and fronto-parietal networks, with an inflection point and increasing trajectories after puberty onset. These results add to the insights into the development of the functional organization of the adolescent brain.

Significance Statement

Topological Data Analysis (TDA) may be used to explore the topology of the brain along the whole range of connectivity values instead of selecting only a fixed set of connectivity thresholds. Here, we explored some properties of the topology of the brain’s functional connectome and how they develop in adolescence. We show that developmental trajectories are nonlinear and better adjusted by puberty status than chronological age, with an inflection point around the onset of puberty. In particular, the results show that the topology of the fronto-parietal network is the one that drives the functional connectome changes in the adolescent period.