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Brain Activity Fluctuations Propagate as Waves Traversing the Cortical Hierarchy
Yameng Gu1, Lucas E Sainburg1, Sizhe Kuang1
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.
Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
|April 6, 2021
Summary
Spontaneous brain waves, measured by resting-state functional MRI, travel along the brain's hierarchy. These waves link to arousal regulation and the main functional connectivity gradient.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Systems Neuroscience
- Cognitive Neuroscience
Background:
- Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) reveals organized spontaneous brain activity patterns.
- Spatiotemporally coherent waves are hypothesized to shape functional connectivity but are challenging to study with fMRI's temporal limitations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the structure and origin of spontaneous activity waves in the human and monkey brain.
- To determine if these waves align with cortical organization and modulate with vigilance states.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of spontaneous wave propagation using human resting-state fMRI data.
- Simultaneous recording and analysis of spontaneous activity using monkey electrocorticography (ECoG).
Main Results:
- Identified clear, repeatable, and directionally constrained spontaneous activity waves in both human fMRI and monkey ECoG.
- Observed wave propagation along a spatial axis reflecting cortical hierarchy.
- Found associations between these waves and subcortical structures involved in arousal regulation, modulated by vigilance.
Conclusions:
- Demonstrated a neural basis for spatiotemporal wave propagation in resting-state brain activity.
- Linked these spontaneous waves to the principal gradient of resting-state fMRI connectivity.
- Highlighted the role of arousal regulation in modulating spontaneous brain wave activity.
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