Spontaneous brain regional dynamics contribute to generalizable brain-behaviour associations

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Science
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Spontaneous brain activity is crucial for understanding individual differences.
• Inter-regional brain coupling is well-studied, but intra-regional dynamics are less explored.
• Characterizing brain activity is key for brain-wide association studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To comprehensively characterize intra-regional brain dynamics.
• To identify individual-specific dynamic features ('barcodes') of brain activity.
• To investigate the link between intra-regional dynamics and behavioral traits.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from 30,148 individuals (ages 8-82).
• Extraction of ~5,000 time-series features representing intra-regional dynamics across 271 brain regions.
• Identification of a stable subset of features forming individual-specific brain 'barcodes'.

Main Results:

• A reliable subset of intra-regional dynamic features ('barcodes') was identified, reflecting stable individual variation.
• Nonlinear autocorrelations in unimodal regions correlated with substance use traits.
• Random walk dynamics in higher-order networks correlated with general cognitive abilities.
• Brain-behavior associations generalized across age groups and populations.

Conclusions:

• Intra-regional brain dynamics provide a robust, individual-specific 'barcode' for brain-behavior association studies.
• These findings highlight the potential of intra-regional dynamics for understanding individual differences in traits like substance use and cognition.
• The study advances large-scale, generalizable brain-wide association studies by incorporating dynamic brain activity patterns.