Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society

Resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) can provide awindow into the neural architecture of functional networks inthe brain. Functional networks measured both during task andduring “resting” (task-absent) state are correlated withcognitive function, and much development of these networksoccurs between infancy and adulthood. However, rsFC studyin young children has been sparse, mainly due to a paucity ofchild-appropriate neural measures and behavioral paradigms.We present a new paradigm to measure rsFC in children,utilizing functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) andFreeplay, a behavioral setup designed to approximate restingstate in children. Results suggest this paradigm is practicaland has good construct validity and test-retest reliability.