The neural development of human attention network

Attention is an essential cognitive operation that facilitates the selective encoding and transferring of relevant
sensory information, while concurrently suppressing the processing of irrelevant and distracting information. Disruptions of attention have been related to a spectrum of clinical disorders ranging from severe psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia to developmental disorders such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and dyslexia. Given these clinical implications, a large number of studies have been carried out to better understand neural mechanisms underlying attentional selection and many of these studies have implicated subregions of frontal and parietal cortex as sources of attentional control, which serve several types of attentional functions. These include the ability to sustain the attentional focus, the ability to flexibly change the size of the attentional spotlight, and the ability to quickly shift the attentional locus.
However, thus far, there is still a lack of neural evidence that describes the neural development of the fronto-parietal attention network. Importantly, it is unclear how this developmental transformation promotes changes in different aspects of attentional functions, which may develop at different rates. Moreover, it is not well understood how the fronto-parietal network and other neural networks, such as the fronto-striatal executive control network, interact with one another to support the development of these different attentional functions. Without this fundamental knowledge, it will be impossible to understand the origins of developmental disorders that may exhibit distinct patterns of attention deficits.