A morphospace of functional configuration to assess configural breadth based on brain functional networks

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Science
• Network Science

Background:

• Quantifying human brain functional (re)configurations under varying cognitive demands is challenging.
• Functional brain configurations can be categorized into network configural breadth, task-to-task transitional reconfiguration, and within-task reconfiguration.
• These reconfigurations are subtle at the whole-brain level, necessitating a mesoscopic approach.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a mesoscopic framework for quantifying functional (re)configurations using functional networks (FNs).
• To introduce a 2D network morphospace with novel metrics (trapping efficiency and exit entropy) to capture network topology and information integration.
• To utilize this framework to quantify network configural breadth and its relationship with cognitive abilities.

Main Methods:

• Development of a mesoscopic framework focusing on functional networks (FNs).
• Introduction of a 2D network morphospace utilizing trapping efficiency (TE) and exit entropy (EE) metrics.
• Application of the framework to quantify network configural breadth across different cognitive tasks and subjects.

Main Results:

• The proposed metrics successfully differentiate functional networks, cognitive tasks, and individual subjects.
• Network configural breadth was found to significantly predict behavioral measures including episodic memory, verbal episodic memory, fluid intelligence, and general intelligence.
• The framework demonstrated the ability to quantify functional network reconfigurations during shifts between mental states.

Conclusions:

• A novel framework is presented for comprehensively exploring cognitive space at individual and granular levels.
• The framework provides a tool to quantify functional network reconfigurations associated with transitions between mental states.
• This approach offers new insights into the relationship between brain functional organization and cognitive performance.