Individual differences reveal distinct age and pubertal contributions to the refinement of the functional cortical hierarchy during adolescence

Abstract

The development of the functional cortical hierarchy, spanning sensorimotor to association systems, is exclusively studied as a function of age. During adolescence, this overlooks puberty as a major neurodevelopmental driver and source of variability. We studied sensorimotor-association axis refinement longitudinally (6323 observations across 4919 subjects), leveraging individual differences to disentangle chronological age from pubertal effects. We derived low dimensional features of sensorimotor-association axis development from resting-state functional connectomes, revealing substantial inter-individual heterogeneity in maturational trajectories that challenge group-level developmental trends and milestones. Then, we demonstrate independent effects of age and pubertal stage on sensorimotor-association axis refinement through the polarization of the cortical hierarchy. We further show that coordinated system-level shifts in network topology reflect an ongoing specialization of functional connectivity profiles across all major functional networks. Our findings frame adolescent hierarchical functional cortical maturation as an individualized, multifactorial phenomenon shaped by distinct chronological age and pubertal processes.