Cited by 108Functional Brain Connectivity StudiesAdvanced Neuroimaging Techniques and ApplicationsComplex Network Analysis Techniques

Hubs in the human fetal brain network

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van den Heuvel, Marion I., Turk, Elise, Manning, Janessa H., Hect, Jasmine, Hernandez-Andrade, Edgar, Hassan, Sonia S., Romero, Roberto, van den Heuvel, Martijn P. +1 more·2018·Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience

Abstract

Advances in neuroimaging and network analyses have lead to discovery of highly connected regions, or hubs, in the connectional architecture of the human brain. Whether these hubs emerge in utero, has yet to be examined. The current study addresses this question and aims to determine the location of neural hubs in human fetuses. Fetal resting-state fMRI data (N = 105) was used to construct connectivity matrices for 197 discrete brain regions. We discovered that within the connectional functional organization of the human fetal brain key hubs are emerging. Consistent with prior reports in infants, visual and motor regions were identified as emerging hub areas, specifically in cerebellar areas. We also found evidence for network hubs in association cortex, including areas remarkably close to the adult fusiform facial and Wernicke areas. Functional significance of hub structure was confirmed by computationally deleting hub versus random nodes and observing that global efficiency decreased significantly more when hubs were removed (p < .001). Taken together, we conclude that both primary and association brain regions demonstrate centrality in network organization before birth. While fetal hubs may be important for facilitating network communication, they may also form potential points of vulnerability in fetal brain development.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.dcn.2018.02.001

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  • Most hubs are localized in the cerebellum, while some are in the primary and association cortices.

    “Most hubs are localized in the cerebellum, while some are in the primary and association cortices [71].”

    From Brain structural and functional outcomes in the offspring of women experiencing psychological distress during pregnancy (2024) · cites this paper as [71]

    The Results (‘Isolation of fetal brain hubs’) say that 25% of peak hubs reside in the cerebellum, contrary to the claim that most are there. The same section does identify hubs in primary and association cortices. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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Authors
van den Heuvel, M. I., Turk, E., Manning, J. H., Hect, J., Hernandez-Andrade, E., Hassan, S. S., Romero, R., van den Heuvel, M. P., & Thomason, M. E.
Affiliations
  • University Medical Center Utrecht (NL)
  • National Institutes of Health (US)
  • Wayne State University (US)
  • United States Department of Health and Human Services (US)
Venue
Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2018-04
Volume
30
Pages
108-115
ISSN
1878-9293 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2793015464
Cited by
108
References
68
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 2
FWCI
5.80
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Pure Amsterdam UMC (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • Research portal (Tilburg University) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Utrecht University Repository (Utrecht University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Amsterdam UMC (VU Amsterdam) - Institutional Repository (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Funders
  • Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (452-16-015)
  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
  • National Institutes of Health (ES020957, ES026022, MH110793)
  • National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Statistical and Nonlinear Physics › Complex Network Analysis Techniques
Keywords
human fetal brain, brain network development, resting-state functional connectivity, cerebellum, visual cortex, motor cortex, association cortex, fusiform face area, Wernicke's area, global efficiency, fetal brain development
MeSH terms
Adult, Brain, Female, Humans, Male, Neural Pathways, Pregnancy, Young Adult

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