The relationship between spatial configuration and functional connectivity of brain regions

• Published in: eLife Vol. 7
• Main Authors: Bijsterbosch, Janine Diane, Woolrich, Mark W, Glasser, Matthew F, Robinson, Emma C, Beckmann, Christian F, Van Essen, David C, Harrison, Samuel J, Smith, Stephen M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England eLife Sciences Publications Ltd 16.02.2018; eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
• Subjects: Biomedical engineering; Brain research; Cognitive ability; Cortex; Estimates; fingerprinting; functional connectivity; functional connectomes; Medical imaging; Neural networks; Neuroimaging; Neuroscience; Neurosciences; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; parcellation; resting state; Topography; United Kingdom > UK; United States > US; Missouri; resting state; functional connectivity; neuroscience; functional connectomes; parcellation; fingerprinting; human
• ISSN: 2050-084X; 2050-084X
• DOI: 10.7554/eLife.32992

Brain connectivity is often considered in terms of the communication between functionally distinct brain regions. Many studies have investigated the extent to which patterns of coupling strength between multiple neural populations relates to behaviour. For example, studies have used ‘functional connectivity fingerprints’ to characterise individuals' brain activity. Here, we investigate the extent to which the exact spatial arrangement of cortical regions interacts with measures of brain connectivity. We find that the shape and exact location of brain regions interact strongly with the modelling of brain connectivity, and present evidence that the spatial arrangement of functional regions is strongly predictive of non-imaging measures of behaviour and lifestyle. We believe that, in many cases, cross-subject variations in the spatial configuration of functional brain regions are being interpreted as changes in functional connectivity. Therefore, a better understanding of these effects is important when interpreting the relationship between functional imaging data and cognitive traits. People differ a lot from one another in terms of their personality, behaviour and lifestyle. This individuality is attributed to the different regions in the brain, and the strength of communication between them. The connectivity pattern between these areas is thought to be as unique as a fingerprint. If the connections are weak or disrupted it can play a role in conditions such as schizophrenia, depression or Alzheimer’s disease. It is thought that the strength of the connection depends on how strongly the nerve cells in these regions communicate. But are these individual differences solely caused by different strengths of connection, or could other factors contribute to them? Now, Bijsterbosch et al. found that the size, shape and exact position of the brain regions was also strongly linked to the different behaviours of individuals. The study used brain scans, behavioural tests and questionnaires from a large database about lifestyle choices and demographics, to analyse the relationship between the different brain features of healthy individuals. The results showed that the variations in the brain regions were linked to many behavioural factors including intelligence, life satisfaction, drug use and aggression problems. Moreover, Bijsterbosch et al. showed that the existing methods for estimating the strength of connection between brain regions could reveal more about the spatial layout of these regions than the actual connection strength between them. This suggests that new approaches are needed to properly evaluate the strength of the connections. Some psychiatric and neurological diseases may be associated with changes in size and position of the different regions in the brain. In future, the findings of this study could be applied to individuals affected by such conditions, to see if the location of a region could be used as a diagnostic indicator.