Year: 2017
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: We proposed a novel measure of conceptualizing dynamic functional network connectivity (FNC) in the human brain using flexibility of functional connectivity (fFC), which captures the variance of functional connectivity across time. In task-free fMRI scans (N = 122), this measure was demonstrated to correspond to the underlying structural connectivity (SC) within the default mode network (DMN), while static functional connectivity (sFC) did so to a relatively low degree. As SC likely does not develop to facilitate task-free brain function, but rather to integrate information during cognitive engagement, we argue that fFC can estimate the potential functional connectivity exhibited outside of the task-free setting to a greater degree than sFC, and is better suited for examining behavioral correlates of FNC. In support of this, we showed that SC-fFC coupling was related to intelligence levels, while SC-sFC coupling was not. Further, we found that the DMN existed in a functionally disconnected state during a large portion of the scan, raising questions about whether sFC is a meaningful quantifier of functional connectivity in the absence of a task, and scrutinizing its extrapolative power to real-world, cognitively engaging scenarios. Given that fFC is based on FNC variability across time rather than its average, it is largely unaffected by such contaminants.
Author: Andrei A. Vakhtin
Language: English
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2778556479