Resting-state networks in the infant brain

In the absence of any overt task performance, it has been shown that spontaneous, intrinsic brain activity is expressed as system-wide, resting-state networks in the adult brain. However, the route to adult patterns of resting-state activity through neuronal development in the human brain is currently unknown. Therefore, we used functional MRI to map patterns of resting-state activity in infants during sleep. We found five unique resting-states networks in the infant brain that encompassed the primary visual cortex, bilateral sensorimotor areas, bilateral auditory cortex, a network including the precuneus area, lateral parietal cortex, and the cerebellum as well as an anterior network that incorporated the medial and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. These results suggest that resting-state networks driven by spontaneous signal fluctuations are present already in the infant brain. The potential link between the emergence of behavior and patterns of resting-state activity in the infant brain is discussed.