Phase-synchronization-based parcellation of resting state fMRI signals reveals topographically organized clusters in early visual cortex

TY - JOUR

T1 - Phase-synchronization-based parcellation of resting state fMRI signals reveals topographically organized clusters in early visual cortex

AU - Gravel, Nicolás

AU - Harvey, Ben M.

AU - Renken, Remco J

AU - Dumoulin, Serge O

AU - Cornelissen, Frans W

N1 - Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

PY - 2018

Y1 - 2018

N2 - Resting-state fMRI is widely used to study brain function and connectivity. However, interpreting patterns of resting state (RS) fMRI activity remains challenging as they may arise from different neuronal mechanisms than those triggered by exogenous events. Currently, this limits the use of RS-fMRI for understanding cortical function in health and disease. Here, we examine the phase synchronization (PS) properties of blood-oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signals obtained during visual field mapping (VFM) and RS with 7T fMRI. This data-driven approach exploits spatiotemporal covariations in the phase of BOLD recordings to establish the presence of clusters of synchronized activity. We find that, in both VFM and RS data, selecting the most synchronized neighboring recording sites identifies spatially localized PS clusters that follow the topographic organization of the visual cortex. However, in activity obtained during VFM, PS is spatially more extensive than in RS activity, likely reflecting stimulus-driven interactions between local responses. Nevertheless, the similarity of the PS clusters obtained for RS and stimulus-driven fMRI suggest that they share a common neuroanatomical origin. Our finding justifies and facilitates direct comparison of RS and stimulus-evoked activity.

AB - Resting-state fMRI is widely used to study brain function and connectivity. However, interpreting patterns of resting state (RS) fMRI activity remains challenging as they may arise from different neuronal mechanisms than those triggered by exogenous events. Currently, this limits the use of RS-fMRI for understanding cortical function in health and disease. Here, we examine the phase synchronization (PS) properties of blood-oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signals obtained during visual field mapping (VFM) and RS with 7T fMRI. This data-driven approach exploits spatiotemporal covariations in the phase of BOLD recordings to establish the presence of clusters of synchronized activity. We find that, in both VFM and RS data, selecting the most synchronized neighboring recording sites identifies spatially localized PS clusters that follow the topographic organization of the visual cortex. However, in activity obtained during VFM, PS is spatially more extensive than in RS activity, likely reflecting stimulus-driven interactions between local responses. Nevertheless, the similarity of the PS clusters obtained for RS and stimulus-driven fMRI suggest that they share a common neuroanatomical origin. Our finding justifies and facilitates direct comparison of RS and stimulus-evoked activity.

KW - Journal Article

KW - Review

U2 - 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.08.063

DO - 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.08.063

M3 - Article

C2 - 28867341

SN - 1053-8119

VL - 170

SP - 424

EP - 433

JO - NeuroImage

JF - NeuroImage

ER -