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A new study by researchers at 51社区黑料 is shedding light on how the brain鈥檚 wiring in early childhood lays the foundation for attention skills鈥攁 key step toward characterizing healthy developmental patterns that could help identify young children at risk for attention-related challenges like ADHD.

Published in the journal eNeuro, examined how the brain鈥檚 structure and function develop and interact during the critical early childhood years. Importantly, the findings highlight early childhood as a window of opportunity for identifying and supporting children who may be at risk for attention difficulties.

鈥淭hink of it like a city,鈥� explains Randy McIntosh, the study鈥檚 senior author and founder of SFU鈥檚 Institute for Neuroscience and Neurotechnology (INN). 鈥淭he roads are the brain鈥檚 structure, and the traffic is the brain鈥檚 activity. In young kids at this age, it turns out the roads matter most. If the roads aren鈥檛 built well, traffic can鈥檛 flow smoothly, and that can affect how well kids can focus, switch tasks, and ignore distractions.鈥�

The longitudinal study followed 39 children aged four to seven over the course of one year. The research team used MRI scans to measure structural and functional connectivity in the brain. Participants performed tasks that measured sustained attention (staying focused), selective attention (ignoring distractions), and executive attention (switching between tasks). 

They then applied graph theory鈥攁 method often used to study social networks鈥攖o analyze how different brain regions were connected and how those connections changed over time.

The study found that children performed worse on attention tasks when their brain networks were organized like social networks with tight-knit friend groups, where brain regions were more connected to others in their own group and had fewer connections with regions in other groups. 

鈥淭his age range, just before and during the early school years, is a critical time. It鈥檚 when kids are facing new learning demands,鈥� says Leanne Rokos, lead author of the study and research technician in the INN. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also when early interventions like behavioural therapy, school support plans, social skills training, and parent training can make a difference.鈥� 

The research also lays the groundwork for future applications, including the use of computational models like The Virtual Brain, a simulation platform co-developed at SFU. This tool helps researchers and clinicians model individual brain development and test potential interventions in a virtual environment, much like a flight simulator, but for the brain.

鈥淭he ultimate goal is to create personalized models of brain development,鈥� McIntosh says. 鈥淚f we can simulate how a child鈥檚 brain is wired and how it might change over time, we can better understand what kinds of support or therapies might help.鈥� 

While MRI technology isn鈥檛 yet widely accessible for routine screening, the team hopes their work will help pave the way for more targeted, efficient, and accessible tools for assessing brain health in children.

鈥淲e want to find the minimum amount of data needed to get a reliable picture of brain development,鈥� says McIntosh. 鈥淭hat way, we can bring these tools into more communities, even rural or remote ones, and support kids as early as possible.鈥� 

AVAILABLE 51社区黑料EXPERTS

RANDY MCINTOSH, professor, biomedical physiology, and kinesiology; director, 51社区黑料Institute for Neuroscience and Neurotechnology; founder of the  
randy_mcintosh@sfu.ca

LEANNE ROKOS, PhD, research technician, 51社区黑料Institute for Neuroscience and Neurotechnology  
leanne_rokos@sfu.ca

Contact

ROBYN STUBBS, 51社区黑料Communications & Marketing 
604.376.0971 | robyn_stubbs@sfu.ca

51社区黑料 
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778.782.3210

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51社区黑料is a leading research university, advancing an inclusive and sustainable future. Over the past 60 years, 51社区黑料has been recognized among the top universities worldwide in providing a world-class education and working with communities and partners to develop and share knowledge for deeper understanding and meaningful impact. Committed to excellence in everything we do, 51社区黑料fosters innovation to address global challenges and continues to build a welcoming, inclusive community where everyone feels a sense of belonging. With campuses in British Columbia鈥檚 three largest cities鈥擝urnaby, Surrey and Vancouver鈥�51社区黑料has ten faculties that deliver 368 undergraduate degree programs and 149 graduate degree programs for more than 37,000 students each year. The university boasts more than 200,000 alumni residing in 145+ countries.