Anatomofunctional organisation of the frontoparietal network for attention in childhood
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24310/escpsi.19.1.2026.22181Keywords:
childhood, cognitive neuroscience, attentional networks, frontoparietal network, systematic reviewAbstract
Recent developments in cognitive neuroscience indicate that, within the tripartite model of attention comprising three functional networks, the frontoparietal network is responsible for top-down attentional regulation and modulates the activity of other attentional networks. The frontoparietal network is mainly supported by the activity of the prefrontal and parietal cortex. However, given the neurobiological immaturity linked to child development, the anatomofunctional structure of the frontoparietal network in this period is liable to marked modifications. To study the validity of this postulation, a systematic review was carried out, involving a total of 14408 participants drawn from 18 original studies. These results support the initial hypothesis, proving that the intrahemispheric and interhemispheric functional specialisation of the frontoparietal network is weakened in childhood, thus
affecting the ability for attentional regulation.
Downloads
References
Adamian, N., Slaustaite, E., & Andersen, S. K. (2019). Top–down attention is limited within but not between feature dimensions. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 31(8), 1173–1183. https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_01383
Alahmadi A. A. S. (2021). Investigating the sub-regions of the superior parietal cortex using functional magnetic resonance imaging connectivity. Insights into imaging, 12(1), 47. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13244-021-00993-9
Appel, M., Hasin, D., Farah, R., & Horowitz-Kraus, T. (2024). Greater utilization of executive functions networks when listening to stories with visual stimulation is related to lower reading abilities in children. Brain and cognition, 177, 106161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandc.2024.106161
Astle, D. E., Luckhoo, H., Woolrich, M., Kuo, B. C., Nobre, A. C., & Scerif, G. (2015). The Neural Dynamics of Fronto-Parietal Networks in Childhood Revealed using Magnetoencephalography. Cerebral cortex, 25(10), 3868–3876. https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhu271
Barnes, J. J., Woolrich, M. W., Baker, K., Colclough, G. L., & Astle, D. E. (2016). Electrophysiological measures of resting state functional connectivity and their relationship with working memory capacity in childhood. Developmental Science, 19(1), 19–31. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12297
Baron, I. S. (2018). Neuropsychological evaluation of the child: Domains, methods, & case studies. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1080/13854046.2020.1736162
Bartolomeo, P., Liu, J., & Seidel-Malkinson, T. (2025). Frontoparietal asymmetries leading to conscious perception. Trends in cognitive sciences, 29(3), 222–225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2024.12.002
Bhoyroo, R., Hands, B., Caeyenberghs, K., de Luca, A., Leemans, A., Wigley, A., & Hyde, C. (2022). Association between Motor Planning and the Frontoparietal Network in Children: An Exploratory Multimodal Study. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 28(9), 926–936. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355617721001168
Bhushan-Thukral B. (2015). Problems and preferences in pediatric imaging. The Indian journal of radiology & imaging, 25(4), 359–364. https://doi.org/10.4103/0971-3026.169466
Breu, M. S., Ramezanpour, H., Dicke, P. W., & Thier, P. (2023). A frontoparietal network for volitional control of gaze following. European Journal of Neuroscience, 57(10), 1723–1735. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.15975
Chaddock-Heyman, L., Weng, T. B., Kienzler, C., Erickson, K. I., Voss, M. W., Drollette, E. S., Raine, L. B., Kao, S. C., Hillman, C. H., & Kramer, A. F. (2018). Scholastic performance and functional connectivity of brain networks in children. PLoS ONE, 13(1), e0190073. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0190073
Cosío-Guirado, R., Tapia-Medina, M. G., Kaya, C., Peró-Cebollero, M., Villuendas-González, E. R., & Guàrdia-Olmos, J. (2024). A comprehensive systematic review of fMRI studies on brain connectivity in healthy children and adolescents: Current insights and future directions. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 69, 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2024.101438
Downes, M. J., Brennan, M. L., Williams, H. C., & Dean, R. S. (2016). Development of a critical appraisal tool to assess the quality of cross-sectional studies (AXIS). BMJ open, 6(12), e011458. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-011458
Eickhoff, S. B., Yeo, B. T. T., & Genon, S. (2018). Imaging-based parcellations of the human brain. Nature reviews Neuroscience, 19(11), 672–686. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41583-018-0071-7
Farah, R., Coalson, R. S., Petersen, S. E., Schlaggar, B. L., & Horowitz-Kraus, T. (2019). Children Use Regions in the Visual Processing and Executive Function Networks during a Subsequent Memory Reading Task. Cerebral cortex, 29(12), 5180–5189. https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhz057
Fiebelkorn, I. C., & Kastner, S. (2020). Functional specialization in the attention network. Annual Review of Psychology, 71, 221–249. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010418-103429
Fischer, M., Moscovitch, M., & Alain, C. (2021). A systematic review and meta‐analysis of memory‐guided attention: Frontal and parietal activation suggests involvement of fronto‐parietal networks. WIREs Cognitive Science, 12(1), e1546. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcs.1546
Friedman, N. P., & Robbins, T. W. (2022). The role of prefrontal cortex in cognitive control and executive function. Neuropsychopharmacology, 47(1), 72–89. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-021-01132-0
Gong, M., & Liu, T. (2020). Biased neural representation of feature-based attention in the human frontoparietal network. Journal of Neuroscience, 40(43), 8386-8395. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0690-20.2020
Goswami, U. (2024). Neuroscience and Theory in Child Psychology: Uncomfortable Bedfellows?. Human Development, 68(5-6), 272-275. https://doi.org/10.1159/000541074
Hoffmann, F., Grosse Wiesmann, C., Singer, T., & Steinbeis, N. (2022). Development of functional network architecture explains changes in children's altruistically motivated helping. Developmental science, 25(2), e13167. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.13167
Jiang, P., Vuontela, V., Tokariev, M., Lin, H., Aronen, E. T., Ma, Y., & Carlson, S. (2018). Functional connectivity of intrinsic cognitive networks during resting state and task performance in preadolescent children. PLoS ONE, 13(10). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0205690
Kamper S. J. (2020). Risk of Bias and Study Quality Assessment: Linking Evidence to Practice. Journal of orthopaedic and sports physical therapy, 50(5), 277–279. https://doi.org/10.2519/jospt.2020.0702
Klein, R. M. (2024). Assessing the predictions from Posner’s theory of phasic alertness using data from Los and Schut (2008). Memory & Cognition, 52(1), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13421-023-01438-y
Kolk, S. M., & Rakic, P. (2022). Development of prefrontal cortex. Neuropsychopharmacology, 47(1), 41–57. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-021-01137-9
Ma, Z., & Zhang, N. (2021). Brain-wide connectivity architecture: Developmental aspects. En C. R. Martin, V. R. Preedy & R.Rajendra, (Eds.), Factors Affecting Neurodevelopment: Genetics, Neurology, Behavior, and Diet (pp. 247-257). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-817986-4.00022-5
Marek, S., & Dosenbach, N. U. F. (2018). The frontoparietal network: function, electrophysiology, and importance of individual precision mapping. Dialogues in clinical neuroscience, 20(2), 133–140. https://doi.org/10.31887/DCNS.2018.20.2/smarek
McCaffrey, J. B. (2023). Evolving concepts of functional localization. Philosophy Compass, 18(5), e12914. https://doi.org/10.1111/phc3.12914
McKenna, R., Rushe, T., & Woodcock, K. A. (2017). Informing the structure of executive function in children: A meta-analysis of functional neuroimaging data. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 11, 154. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2017.00154
Moyano-Flores, P. S. (2023). Early development of attention control: Impact of temperament and environment factors [Tesis Doctoral, Universidad de Granada]. DIGIBUG: Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Granada. https://hdl.handle.net/10481/84475
Muetzel, R. L., Blanken, L. M. E., Thijssen, S., van der Lugt, A., Jaddoe, V. W. V., Verhulst, F. C., Tiemeier, H., & White, T. (2016). Resting‐state networks in 6‐to‐10 year old children. Human Brain Mapping, 37(12), 4286–4300. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.23309
Nakajima, R., Kinoshita, M., Shinohara, H., & Nakada, M. (2020). The superior longitudinal fascicle: Reconsidering the fronto-parietal neural network based on anatomy and function. Brain Imaging and Behavior, 14(6), 2817–2830. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-019-00187-4
Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., Chou, R., Glanville, J., Grimshaw, J. M., Hróbjartsson, A., Lalu, M. M., Li, T., Loder, E. W., Mayo-Wilson, E., McDonald, S., ... Moher, D. (2021). Declaración PRISMA 2020: una guía actualizada para la publicación de revisiones sistemáticas. Revista española de cardiología, 74(9), 790-799. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rec.2021.07.010
Page, M. J., Sterne, J. A. C., & Higgins, J. P. T. (2019). Assessing risk of bias due to missing results in a synthesis. En J. P. T. Higgins, J. Thomas, J. Chandler, M. Cumpston, T. Li, M. J. Page, & V. A. Welch (Eds.), Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions (2nd ed., pp. 349-374). Wiley-Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119536604.ch13
Peters, S., Van Duijvenvoorde, A. C., Koolschijn, P. C., & Crone, E. A. (2016). Longitudinal development of frontoparietal activity during feedback learning: Contributions of age, performance, working memory and cortical thickness. Developmental cognitive neuroscience, 19, 211–222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2016.04.004
Petersen, S. E., & Posner, M. I. (2012). The attention system of the human brain: 20 years after. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 35, 73–89. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-neuro-062111-150525
Pollock, D., Tricco, A. C., Peters, M. D. J., Mclnerney, P. A., Khalil, H., Godfrey, C. M., Alexander, L. A., & Munn, Z. (2022). Methodological quality, guidance, and tools in scoping reviews: a scoping review protocol. JBI evidence synthesis, 20(4), 1098–1105. https://doi.org/10.11124/JBIES-20-00570
Posner M. I. (2012). Attentional networks and consciousness. Frontiers in psychology, 3, 64. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00064
Posner, M. I. (2016). Orienting of attention: Then and now. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 69(10), 1864–1875. https://doi.org/10.1080/17470218.2014.937446
Posner M. I. (2024). Orienting of attention and spatial cognition. Cognitive processing, 25(Suplemento 1), 55–59. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10339-024-01216-x
Posner, M. I., & Petersen, S. E. (1990). The attention system of the human brain. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 13, 25–42. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ne.13.030190.000325
Ptak, R. (2012). The frontoparietal attention network of the human brain: Action, saliency, and a priority map of the environment. Neuroscientist, 18(5), 502–515. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073858411409051
Radecke, J. O., Fiene, M., Misselhorn, J., Herrmann, C. S., Engel, A. K., Wolters, C. H., & Schneider, T. R. (2023). Personalized alpha-tACS targeting left posterior parietal cortex modulates visuo-spatial attention and posterior evoked EEG activity. Brain Stimulation, 16(4), 1047–1061. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brs.2023.06.013
Rakesh, D., Zalesky, A., & Whittle, S. (2023). The Role of School Environment in Brain Structure, Connectivity, and Mental Health in Children: A Multimodal Investigation. Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging, 8(1), 32–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsc.2022.01.006
Ribeiro, M., Yordanova, Y. N., Noblet, V., Herbet, G., & Ricard, D. (2024). White matter tracts and executive functions: a review of causal and correlation evidence. Brain, 147(2), 352–371. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awad308
Rosenberg, M. D., Hsu, W. T., Scheinost, D., Constable, R. T., & Chun, M. M. (2018). Connectome-based models predict separable components of attention in novel individuals. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 30(2), 160–173. https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_01197
Salehinejad, M. A., Ghanavati, E., Rashid, M. H. A., & Nitsche, M. A. (2021). Hot and cold executive functions in the brain: A prefrontal-cingular network. Brain and neuroscience advances, 5, 23982128211007769. https://doi.org/10.1177/23982128211007769
Sani, I., Stemmann, H., Caron, B., Bullock, D., Stemmler, T., Fahle, M., Pestilli, F., & Freiwald, W. A. (2021). The human endogenous attentional control network includes a ventro-temporal cortical node. Nature communications, 12(1), 360. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20583-5
Santangelo, V. (2018). Large-scale brain networks supporting divided attention across spatial locations and sensory modalities. Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience, 12, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnint.2018.00008
Schirmbeck, K., Rao, N., & Maehler, C. (2020). Similarities and differences across countries in the development of executive functions in children: A systematic review. Infant and Child Development, 29(1), e2164. https://doi.org/10.1002/icd.2164
Schwarze, S. A., Laube, C., Khosravani, N., Lindenberger, U., Bunge, S. A., & Fandakova, Y. (2023). Does prefrontal connectivity during task switching help or hinder children’s performance? Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 60, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101217
Scolari, M., Seidl-Rathkopf, K. N., & Kastner, S. (2015). Functions of the human frontoparietal attention network: Evidence from neuroimaging. Current opinion in behavioral sciences, 1, 32–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2014.08.003
Solis, I., Janowich, J., Candelaria-Cook, F., Collishaw, W., Wang, Y. P., Wilson, T. W., Calhoun, V. D., Ciesielski, K. R. T., & Stephen, J. M. (2021). Frontoparietal network and neuropsychological measures in typically developing children. Neuropsychologia, 159, 107914. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.107914
Song, Z., Wang, Q., Wang, Y., Ran, Y., Tang, X., Li, H., & Jiang, Z. (2025). Developmental dynamics of brain network modularity and temporal co-occurrence diversity in childhood. Journal of affective disorders, 369, 928–944. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2024.10.072
Stelzer, F., Mazzoni, C. C., & Cervigni, M. A. (2014). Cognitive models of executive functions development. Methodological limitations and theoretical challenges. Anales de Psicología, 30(1), 330–337. http://dx.doi.org/10.6018/analesps.30.1.139251
Thiele, A., & Bellgrove, M. A. (2018). Neuromodulation of Attention. Neuron, 97(4), 769–785. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2018.01.008
Thomas, S. A., Ryan, S. K., & Gilman, J. (2023). Resting state network connectivity is associated with cognitive flexibility performance in youth in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study. Neuropsychologia, 191, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2023.108708
Thornburgh, C. L., Narayana, S., Rezaie, R., Bydlinski, B. N., Tylavsky, F. A., Papanicolaou, A. C., Choudhri, A. F., & Völgyi, E. (2017). Concordance of the Resting State Networks in Typically Developing, 6-to 7-Year-Old Children and Healthy Adults. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 11, 199. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2017.00199
Wang, C., Hu, Y., Weng, J., Chen, F., & Liu, H. (2020). Modular segregation of task-dependent brain networks contributes to the development of executive function in children. NeuroImage, 206, 116334. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116334
Weiss-Croft, L. J., & Baldeweg, T. (2015). Maturation of language networks in children: A systematic review of 22 years of functional MRI. NeuroImage, 123, 269–281. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.07.046
Wells, G., Shea, B., O’Connell, D., Peterson, J., Welch, V., & Losos, M. (2000). The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) for assessing the quality of nonrandomized studies in metaanalyses. The Ottawa Hospital. https://ohri.ca/en/who-we-are/core-facilities-and-platforms/ottawa-methods-centre/newcastle-ottawa-scale
Westfall, D. R., Anteraper, S. A., Chaddock-Heyman, L., Drollette, E. S., Raine, L. B., Whitfield-Gabrieli, S., Kramer, A. F., & Hillman, C. H. (2020). Resting-State Functional Connectivity and Scholastic Performance in Preadolescent Children: A Data-Driven Multivoxel Pattern Analysis (MVPA). Journal of clinical medicine, 9(10), 3198. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm9103198
Witvliet, D., Mulcahy, B., Mitchell, J. K., Meirovitch, Y., Berger, D. R., Wu, Y., Liu, Y., Koh, W. X., Parvathala, R., Holmyard, D., Schalek, R. L., Shavit, N., Chisholm, A. D., Lichtman, J. W., Samuel, A. D. T., & Zhen, M. (2021). Connectomes across development reveal principles of brain maturation. Nature, 596(7871), 257–261. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03778-8
Yi, H., Xiao, M., Chen, X., Yan, Q., Yang, Y., Liu, Y., Song, S., Gao, X., & Chen, H. (2024). Resting-state functional network connectivity underlying conscientiousness in school-aged children. Child neuropsychology, 30(3), 486–502. https://doi.org/10.1080/09297049.2023.2221757
Zhang, Q., Luo, C., Ngetich, R., Zhang, J., Jin, Z., & Li, L. (2022). Visual Selective Attention P300 Source in Frontal-Parietal Lobe: ERP and fMRI Study. Brain topography, 35(5-6), 636–650. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10548-022-00916-x
Zink, N., Lenartowicz, A., & Markett, S. (2021). A new era for executive function research: On the transition from centralized to distributed executive functioning. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 124, 235–244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.02.011
Downloads
Published
Dimensions
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Sergio Sáez-Martínez
All contents published in Escritos de Psicología are protected under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license. All about this license is available in the following link: <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0>
Users can copy, use, redistribute, share and exhibit publicly as long as:
- The original source and authorship of the material are cited (Journal, Publisher and URL of the work).
- It is not used for comercial purposes.
- The existence of the license and its especifications are mentioned.
There are two sets of authors’ rights: moral and property rights. Moral rights are perpetual prerogatives, unrenounceable, not-transferable, unalienable, imprescriptible and inembargable. According to authors’ rights legislation, Escritos de Psicología recognizes and respects authors moral rights, as well as the ownership of property rights. The property rights are referred to the benefits that are gained by the use or the dissemination of works. Escritos de Psicología is published in an open access form and it is exclusively licenced by any means for doing or authorising distribution, dissemination, reproduction, , adaptation, translation or arrangement of works.
Authors are responsable for obtaining the necessary permission to use copyrighted images.

10.png)
ESCRITOS DE PSICOLOGÍA-PSYCHOLOGICAL WRITINGS is funded by the