Contribution of cortical layers to human dynamic functional connectivity

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)

Abstract

Abstract Transitory states of the brain, sometimes linked to particular mental disorders, can be identified by conducting a dynamic analysis of connectivity in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data. Here, we investigated whether the connectivity between cortical laminae (in contrast to between cortical areas ), can vary during the course of a resting-state scan and whether this could impact the identification of brain states in the healthy brain. We performed a sliding-window connectivity analysis of high-resolution fMRI data and found that the differential participation of the cortical layers in the overall cortical connectivity constitutes a more dynamic feature of the brain compared to region-to-region connectivity, with two main states (superficial vs. deep-laminae connectivity) fluctuating over time. Laminar connectivity restricted to the default mode network appeared relatively stable (superficial connectivity preferred), while the central executive and salience networks showed a fluctuating laminar preference. We anticipate that the dynamic analysis of connectivity focused on the different depths of the cerebral cortex could play an important role in characterizing healthy brain states as well as in identifying novel targets of psychiatric diseases.

Authors 8

1. Patricia Pais‐Roldán

   Forschungszentrum Jülich

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine 4, Medical Imaging Physics, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany

2. Seong Dae Yun

   Forschungszentrum Jülich

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine 4, Medical Imaging Physics, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany

3. Shukti Ramkiran Aachen Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics

   Forschungszentrum Jülich · RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

   Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine 4, Medical Imaging Physics, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany

4. Tanja Veselinović Aachen Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics

   Forschungszentrum Jülich · RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

   Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine 4, Medical Imaging Physics, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany

5. Irene Neuner

   Forschungszentrum Jülich

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine 4, Medical Imaging Physics, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany

   JARA - BRAIN - Translational Medicine, Aachen, Germany

6. Markus Zimmermann

   Forschungszentrum Jülich

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine 4, Medical Imaging Physics, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany

7. Jörg Felder Aachen

   Forschungszentrum Jülich · RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine 4, Medical Imaging Physics, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany

   RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

8. Nadim Jon Shah corresponding Aachen Department of Neurology

   Forschungszentrum Jülich · Jülich Aachen Research Alliance · RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Neurology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

   Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine 11, Molecular Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, JARA, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany

   Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine 4, Medical Imaging Physics, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany

   JARA - BRAIN - Translational Medicine, Aachen, Germany