(Nature) – The comprehensive guide draws on brain scans from almost 3,600 people, ranging from infants to centenarians. It maps a property called functional connectivity, which describes the level of coordination between separate brain regions. The data suggest that in young adults, particular patterns of this connectivity are linked to cognitive performance.

Such a guide could be useful for understanding when developmental issues and neurodegenerative conditions emerge, says Jakob Seidlitz, a neuroscientist at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, who was not involved in the research. “This is an important contribution to the field,” he adds. (Read More)