Figure 3.

Changes in thalamo-cortical connectivity across age. The color-coded thalamus, based on the winner take all strategy (Zhang et al., 2008), in adults shows a functional organization that is remarkably similar to known nuclear groupings in the primate thalamus. However, the picture is different in adolescents and children. In both adolescents and to a greater extent children, thalamo-temporal interactions encompass a greater portion of anterior and midline thalamus, while the frontal lobe interactions encompass much less of the anterior portions of the thalamus. In children, thalamo-temporal interactions not only encroach on areas that, in adults, are dominated by thalamo-frontal interactions, but also impinge on thalamic zones that later become functionally more connected with motor/premotor, somatosensory, and occipical/parietal cortex; Transverse Z = +8, Sagittal X = −12, Coronal Y = −27.