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Multilayer Connector Hub Mapping Reveals Key Brain Regions Supporting Expressive Language
Brady J Williamson1, Manlio De Domenico2, Darren S Kadis3,4
1Department of Radiology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
Brain Connectivity
|December 15, 2020
Summary
Connector hubs are vital for brain network communication during expressive language. This study identified key hubs facilitating interfrequency communication, crucial for typical cognitive function.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Network Science
Background:
- Understanding brain network components in typical cognition is crucial.
- Connector hubs, highly connected regions, are vital for sensorimotor integration.
- Their role in expressive language functioning requires further characterization.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize connector hubs in typical expressive language functioning.
- To utilize a data-driven, multimodal, multilayer magnetoencephalography (MEG) connectivity pipeline.
- To identify regions facilitating between-frequency communication during language tasks.
Main Methods:
- Employed a multilayer magnetoencephalography (MEG) connectivity pipeline on 12 adolescents (16-18 years) during a verb generation task.
- Calculated whole-brain MEG and structural connectivity, using amplitude/amplitude coupling (AAC) for functional connections across frequency bins.
- Defined and reranked hubs using multilayer versatility and a novel delta centrality on interconnectedness (DCI) measure.
Main Results:
- Identified specific brain regions acting as crucial hubs for interfrequency communication during expressive language.
- Demonstrated the utility of a multilayer, data-driven framework in capturing nonlinear, cross-scale brain connections.
- Connector hubs were found to be conduits for interfrequency communication between action and perception systems.
Conclusions:
- Connector hubs play a critical role in facilitating interfrequency communication essential for typical cognitive functioning, particularly in expressive language.
- The developed multilayer framework offers a novel approach to analyzing complex brain networks, revealing connections missed by conventional methods.
- Findings have potential theoretical and clinical applications across various cognitive domains.
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