The development of the brain was revealed by brain entropy (BEN) during movie watching from the age of three to twelve years

Abstract

Mapping the developmental landscape of brain function is a key objective in modern neuroscience, greatly advanced by the public release of neuroimaging datasets. Here, we utilized movie-watching fMRI to study brain entropy (BEN) in 3-12-year-olds from OpenNeuro. The results of the analysis revealed that decreasing BEN within the action-mode network (AMN) serves as a key developmental marker in children. The AMN underpins goal-directed cognition, and its entropy reduction may signify a crucial shift from early, externally driven sensorimotor processing toward the emergence of more internalized, self-referential thought processes associated with the default-mode network. These findings highlight BEN as a powerful and sensitive tool for deciphering the principles of functional brain development.