Developmental organization of neural dynamics supporting social processing: Evidence from naturalistic fMRI in children and adults.

ABSTRACT: The development of social cognition underpins significant implications for diagnosing and treating neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder. This study investigates the dynamic neural organization of social cognition in children (n = 60, ages 3-10) and adults (n = 55) using a naturalistic fMRI paradigm that tracks continuous brain activity during real-world social interactions. We identify four distinct co-activation patterns (CAP) that reflect a functional hierarchy, ranging from basic sensory processing to complex social-cognitive integration. These brain state dynamics reveal significant developmental differences: children exhibit immature transitions, often bypassing intermediate states (e.g., salience-driven filtering, State 3) and prematurely shifting from early

SUBMITTER: Hu W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12819027 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature