Developmental pathways to functional brain networks: emerging principles

• Understanding functional brain networks requires a developmental perspective.
• The ontogeny of normal and aberrant functional brain networks is described.
• Methods for characterizing the emergence and maturation of networks are discussed.
• The major principles of typical and atypical functional network development are enunciated.
• Dysfunctional brain networks are shown to be prominent in neurodevelopmental disorders.

The human brain undergoes protracted developmental changes during which it constructs functional networks that engender complex cognitive abilities. Understanding brain function ultimately depends on knowledge of how dynamic interactions between distributed brain regions mature with age to produce sophisticated cognitive systems. This review summarizes recent progress in our understanding of the ontogeny of functional brain networks. Here I describe how complementary methods for probing functional connectivity are providing unique insights into the emergence and maturation of distinct functional networks from childhood to adulthood. I highlight six emerging principles governing the development of large-scale functional networks and discuss how they inform cognitive and affective function in typically developing children and in children with neurodevelopmental disorders.