Nonetheless, the general results presented here represent a strong set of hypotheses to be tested in broader domains and larger-scale brain graphs. First, that by age 8 years, regional relationships, as defined by rs-fcMRI, are organized as small-world-like networks, which, relative to adults, emphasize local connections. Second, that for the same regions, adult networks show similar network metrics but with regional relationships that have a longer-range, more distributed structure reflecting adult functional histories. In other words, the modular structure of large-scale brain networks will change with age, but even school age children will show relatively efficient processing architecture.
