Network Controllability in Transmodal Cortex Predicts Positive Psychosis Spectrum Symptoms

Brain connectivity datasets comprise networks of brain regions connected by anatomical tracts or by functional associations. Complex network analysis-a new multidisciplinary approach to the study of complex systems-aims to characterize these brain networks with a small number of neurobiologically meaningful and easily computable measures. In this article, we discuss construction of brain networks from connectivity data and describe the most commonly used network measures of structural and functional connectivity. We describe measures that variously detect functional integration and segregation, quantify centrality of individual brain regions or pathways, characterize patterns of local anatomical circuitry, and test resilience of networks to insult. We discuss the issues surrounding comparison of structural and functional network connectivity, as well as comparison of networks across subjects. Finally, we describe a Matlab toolbox (http://www.brain-connectivity-toolbox.net) accompanying this article and containing a collection of complex network measures and large-scale neuroanatomical connectivity datasets. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Information processing in the cerebral cortex involves interactions among distributed areas. Anatomical connectivity suggests that certain areas form local hierarchical relations such as within the visual system. Other connectivity patterns, particularly among association areas, suggest the presence of large-scale circuits without clear hierarchical relations. In this study the organization of networks in the human cerebrum was explored using resting-state functional connectivity MRI. Data from 1,000 subjects were registered using surface-based alignment. A clustering approach was employed to identify and replicate networks of functionally coupled regions across the cerebral cortex. The results revealed local networks confined to sensory and motor cortices as well as distributed networks of association regions. Within the sensory and motor cortices, functional connectivity followed topographic representations across adjacent areas. In association cortex, the connectivity patterns often showed abrupt transitions between network boundaries. Focused analyses were performed to better understand properties of network connectivity. A canonical sensory-motor pathway involving primary visual area, putative middle temporal area complex (MT+), lateral intraparietal area, and frontal eye field was analyzed to explore how interactions might arise within and between networks. Results showed that adjacent regions of the MT+ complex demonstrate differential connectivity consistent with a hierarchical pathway that spans networks. The functional connectivity of parietal and prefrontal association cortices was next explored. Distinct connectivity profiles of neighboring regions suggest they participate in distributed networks that, while showing evidence for interactions, are embedded within largely parallel, interdigitated circuits. We conclude by discussing the organization of these large-scale cerebral networks in relation to monkey anatomy and their potential evolutionary expansion in humans to support cognition.

A central goal in systems neuroscience is the parcellation of the cerebral cortex into discrete neurobiological "atoms". Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) offers the possibility of in vivo human cortical parcellation. Almost all previous parcellations relied on 1 of 2 approaches. The local gradient approach detects abrupt transitions in functional connectivity patterns. These transitions potentially reflect cortical areal boundaries defined by histology or visuotopic fMRI. By contrast, the global similarity approach clusters similar functional connectivity patterns regardless of spatial proximity, resulting in parcels with homogeneous (similar) rs-fMRI signals. Here, we propose a gradient-weighted Markov Random Field (gwMRF) model integrating local gradient and global similarity approaches. Using task-fMRI and rs-fMRI across diverse acquisition protocols, we found gwMRF parcellations to be more homogeneous than 4 previously published parcellations. Furthermore, gwMRF parcellations agreed with the boundaries of certain cortical areas defined using histology and visuotopic fMRI. Some parcels captured subareal (somatotopic and visuotopic) features that likely reflect distinct computational units within known cortical areas. These results suggest that gwMRF parcellations reveal neurobiologically meaningful features of brain organization and are potentially useful for future applications requiring dimensionality reduction of voxel-wise fMRI data. Multiresolution parcellations generated from 1489 participants are publicly available (https://github.com/ThomasYeoLab/CBIG/tree/master/stable_projects/brain_parcellation/Schaefer2018_LocalGlobal).