Maturation Trajectories of Cortical Resting-State Networks Depend on the\n Mediating Frequency Band

The functional significance of resting state networks and their abnormal\nmanifestations in psychiatric disorders are firmly established, as is the\nimportance of the cortical rhythms in mediating these networks. Resting state\nnetworks are known to undergo substantial reorganization from childhood to\nadulthood, but whether distinct cortical rhythms, which are generated by\nseparable neural mechanisms and are often manifested abnormally in psychiatric\nconditions, mediate maturation differentially, remains unknown. Using\nmagnetoencephalography (MEG) to map frequency band specific maturation of\nresting state networks from age 7 to 29 in 162 participants (31 independent),\nwe found significant changes with age in networks mediated by the beta\n(13-30Hz) and gamma (31-80Hz) bands. More specifically, gamma band mediated\nnetworks followed an expected asymptotic trajectory, but beta band mediated\nnetworks followed a linear trajectory. Network integration increased with age\nin gamma band mediated networks, while local segregation increased with age in\nbeta band mediated networks. Spatially, the hubs that changed in importance\nwith age in the beta band mediated networks had relatively little overlap with\nthose that showed the greatest changes in the gamma band mediated networks.\nThese findings are relevant for our understanding of the neural mechanisms of\ncortical maturation, in both typical and atypical development.\n