Check out Vaidehi's new preprint on the putamen

How does the putamen, one of the brain’s hubs for movement and learning, become organized? Although the putamen emerges in the womb, we show that its mature organization does not. During the first year of life, the putamen's tissue properties develop along distinct spatial gradients, while its initially diffuse connections with cortex become refined, with anterior putamen connecting to frontal areas and posterior putamen to sensorimotor areas in adults. In autism, this overall organization is preserved, but with differences in prefrontal connectivity. Our findings reveal that being connected at birth does not mean being mature; in fact the putamen continues to specialize to support functional development after birth.