Dynamic Reconfiguration of Visuomotor-Related Functional Connectivity Networks

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Systems Neuroscience

Background:

• Cognitive functions depend on the coordinated activity of large-scale brain networks.
• The principles governing the dynamic changes in functional connectivity (FCD) between brain regions are not well understood.
• Executive functions, such as visuomotor mapping, are complex cognitive processes reliant on neural coordination.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test the hypothesis that human executive functions arise from the dynamic interplay of multiple brain networks.
• To investigate the functional connectivity dynamics (FCD) underlying arbitrary visuomotor mapping, a key executive function.

Main Methods:

• Utilized brain connectivity analyses on high-gamma activity recorded via magnetoencephalography (MEG) and intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG).
• Investigated the dynamic interplay of cortico-cortical and cortico-subcortical functional connectivity (FC) networks during visuomotor mapping.

Main Results:

• Visuomotor mapping involves the dynamic interplay of three overlapping FC networks: visual/parietal with sensorimotor/premotor, dorsal frontoparietal with sensorimotor/frontostriatal, and interhemispheric sensorimotor with frontoparietal/visual.
• Demonstrated that visuomotor integration relies on the dynamic reconfiguration of these multiple networks.
• Characterized visuomotor-related FC as nonstationary, exhibiting switching dynamics, areal flexibility, and sparse connectivity (<10% density) over task-relevant timescales.

Conclusions:

• Visuomotor integration is achieved through the dynamic reconfiguration of multiple cortico-cortical and cortico-subcortical FC networks.
• Visuomotor-related FC is dynamic, nonstationary, and flexible, reflecting key properties of large-scale functional brain networks.
• These findings provide a potential entry point for understanding the relationship between dynamic network reconfiguration and cognitive architectures.