War-related stress is associated with resting-state functional connectivity of cognitive control and sensory networks in children.

The ability to read fluently relies on a synchronization between cognitive and sensory abilities and their corresponding brain networks. Environmental stress is related to reduced cognitive control abilities (i.e., executive functions; EF) as well as academic skills. Exposure to war-related events is recognized as a significant environmental stressor; however, whether such exposure directly affects the functional connectivity of brain networks underlying executive functions and sensory processing, both of which are critical for academic skills such as reading, remains unclear. This study aimed to assess the relationship between children's exposure to war events and neurobiological networks supporting these abilities using resting-state functional connectivity. Here, forty-two children (5-13 years old) underwent fMRI resting state scans during the October 7th war (December 2023-2024) and were compared to fMRI datasets of thirty-seven age-matched children who were scanned prior to the war (January 2021- September 2023). Within- and between-functional connectivity (FC) in neural networks supporting EF (frontoparietal, cingulo-opercular, ventral, and dorsal attention) and reading (auditory and visual networks) were exported. War-related events were collected using a questionnaire together with EF, language, and reading measures. Behavioral results revealed significant reductions in the war-exposed group across several domains, including inhibitory control, speed of processing, phonemic awareness, and both word and non-word reading fluency (all p < .05). Neuroimaging results suggested a significant reduction in the between-network FC between EF and sensory networks and increased between-network FC in attention-sensory networks in the war-exposed group. Significant positive correlations within cognitive control networks and negative correlations between sensory networks were observed with elevated war-related events. The results suggest that greater exposure to war-related events is linked to cognitive decline and neurobiological changes associated with increased alertness and lower audio-visual integration, both of which are critical for academic success. Studies should further examine the connection between these neurobiological alterations and academic success.