Spatiotemporal Characterization of the Functional MRI Latency Structure with Respect to Neural Signaling and Brain...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Brain Imaging
• Computational Biology

Background:

• Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) reveals intrinsic brain activity.
• Traditional latency analysis is limited to macroscopic dynamics, leaving fMRI-derived latency structures unexplored.
• Understanding fMRI signal spatiotemporal characteristics is crucial for brain process investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the spatiotemporal characteristics of fMRI signals using latency structure analysis.
• To explore the physical significance of fMRI-derived latency structures.
• To associate these structures with neural parameters and functional brain organization.

Main Methods:

• Latency structure analysis applied to rs-fMRI data from 469 healthy adults.
• Calculation of lagged cross-covariance and principal component analysis to generate latency eigenvectors.
• Association analyses with biophysical model parameters, temporal/spatial features, and functional gradients.

Main Results:

• Latency eigenvectors significantly correlated with neural parameters (synaptic gating, recurrent connection, excitation/inhibition balance).
• Eigenvectors associated with intrinsic neural timescale and major functional brain axes (sensory-transmodal, visual-motor, multiple demand-task-negative).
• Latency model aligns with cortical hierarchy and intrinsic neural signaling models.

Conclusions:

• Latency structure analysis provides a novel method to understand fMRI signal spatiotemporal characteristics.
• Findings offer insights into the physiology underlying brain signal latency.
• Clinical implications demonstrated through validation in autism spectrum disorder.