Abstract
Using fMRI and functional connectivity analyses, it is possible to establish a functional connectome for an individual. The extent to which functional connectomes from adolescents and young adults remain identifiable across many years has not been investigated. Here we show in three publically available longitudinal resting-state fMRI datasets that connectome-based identification of adolescents and young adults scanned 1-3 years apart is possible at levels well above chance using whole-brain functional connectivity data. When we restrict the identification process to specific edges, we find that edges in the frontal, parietal, and temporal cortices tend to lead to the highest identification rates. We also demonstrate that highly unique edges contributing the most to a successful ID tend to connect nodes in these same cortical regions, while edges contributing the least tend to connect cross-hemispheric homologs. These results suggest that despite developmental changes, adolescent and young adult subjects have unique and stable functional connectomes and that the frontal, parietal, and temporal cortices are important in defining individual uniqueness in younger subjects.