Functional homotopy decreases along the unimodal-transmodal axis from childhood to adolescence.

The correlation between functional homotopy and intelligence changes dynamicly across developmental stages.

Individuals with a higher IQ show larger developmental effects of functional homotopy.

Divergent developmental trajectories of functional homotopy across IQ groups suggest complex brain-cognition interplay.

Functional homotopy, defined as the similarity between the corresponding regions of the two hemispheres, is a critical feature of interhemispheric communication and cognitive integration. Throughout development, the brain transitions from broadly connected networks in early childhood to more specialized configurations in adolescence, accompanied by increased hemispheric differentiation and integration. Using longitudinal data and a novel metric of functional homotopy, Homotopic Functional Affinity (HFA), we investigated the developmental patterns of functional homotopy and its relationship with intelligence. Our findings indicate a significant decrease in HFA with age, particularly in higher-order association networks. In addition, adolescents demonstrate stronger, predominantly negative correlations between HFA and intelligence, in contrast to younger children. In particular, individuals with superior intellectual ability experience accelerated decreases in HFA, indicating greater neural efficiency based on higher hemispheric specialization and differentiation. These findings provide evidence of the neural mechanisms that underlie cognitive development, emphasizing the dynamic interaction between hemispheric organization and intelligence. Our work may inform customized educational and clinical interventions for individual development.

Interhemispheric communication

Intelligence

Development

Adolescence

Functional homotopy

© 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.