More generally, our findings provide a framework for examining how fundamental aspects of large-scale organization are disrupted in neurodevelopmental disorders. Previous work has suggested that resting-state functional connectivity can be used to assess disrupted connectivity between specific brain regions that are relevant to the disease-specific pathology in neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorders [90], and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [91], disorders that are thought to be characterized by disruptions in synaptic pruning and myelination at the neuronal level [92]–[94]. The methods and results developed here provide a template for a more detailed investigation of disruptions in the large-scale organization of brain networks in these and other developmental brain disorders.
