The developing brain structural and functional connectome fingerprint

In the mature brain, structural and functional ‘fingerprints’ of brain connectivity can be used to identify the uniqueness of an individual. However, whether the characteristics that make a given brain distinguishable from others already exist at birth remains unknown. Here, we used neuroimaging data from the developing Human Connectome Project (dHCP) of preterm born neonates who were scanned twice during the perinatal period to assess the developing brain fingerprint. We found that 62 similarity between functional connectomes of the same subject at different time points was low. Only 12similarity in comparison to self-to-other-similarity for the functional connectome. These suggests that structural connectivity is more stable in early life and can represent a potential connectome fingerprint of the individual. In contrast, the functional connectome is highly dynamic at this developmental time. Thus, a relatively stable structural connectome appears to support a changing functional connectome at a time when neonates must rapidly acquire new skills to adapt to their new environment.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.