Connectional axis of individual functional variability: Patterns, structural correlates, and relevance for...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Brain Imaging

Background:

• The human brain exhibits complex functional synchronization across regions.
• Significant individual differences exist in functional brain connections.
• The spatial organization and developmental relevance of functional connectivity variability are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify the spatial organization of functional connectivity (FC) variability across the human connectome.
• To investigate the relationship between FC variability and structural connectivity.
• To examine the developmental trajectory and cognitive relevance of FC variability.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of macroscale functional synchronization in the human cerebral cortex.
• Identification of a connectional axis based on edge-level FC variability.
• Correlation analysis with structural connectivity patterns and cognitive performance data.

Main Results:

• A distinct connectional axis of FC variability was identified, decreasing from within-network to between-network connections.
• This axis showed a spatial association with structural connectivity variability.
• The axis evolved during youth, exhibiting a flatter slope, and its slope correlated positively with higher-order cognitive performance.

Conclusions:

• A novel connectional axis of functional variability exists in the human brain.
• This axis is intrinsically linked to structural connectome variability and undergoes developmental refinement.
• The identified axis is relevant to individual differences in higher-order cognitive abilities.