Module 22:
Brain Connectivity
Data Processing Pipeline
Experimental Design
Data Acquisition
Preprocessing Data Analysis
Slice-time Localizing
Correction Brain Activity
Reconstruction
Motion Correction,
Co-registration & Connectivity
Normalization
Spatial
Prediction
Smoothing
Brain Connectivity
• Human brain mapping has primarily been used to
construct maps indicating regions of the brain that
are activated by certain tasks.
• Recently, there has been an increased interest in
augmenting this type of analysis with connectivity
studies.
• These studies seek to describe how brain regions
interact and how these interactions depend on
experimental conditions and behavioral measures.
Brain Networks
• It has become common practice to talk about brain
networks, i.e. sets of interconnected brain regions
with information transfer among regions.
• To construct a network:
– Define a set of nodes (e.g., ROIs)
– Estimate the set of connections, or edges, between the
nodes.
B
A B C
A 0 1 0 A C
B 0 0 1
C 0 1 0
Network Methods
• A number of methods have been suggested in
the neuroimaging literature to quantify the
relationship between nodes/regions.
• Their appropriateness depend upon:
– what type of conclusions one is interested in
making;
– what type of assumptions one is willing to make;
– the level of the analysis;
– and the modality used to obtain the data.
Brain Connectivity
• Functional Connectivity
– Undirected association between two or more fMRI time
series and/or performance and physiological variables.
– Makes statements about the structure of relationships
among brain regions.
– Usually makes no assumptions about the underlying
biology.
DLPFC!
dACC!
VMPFC!
MTG!
Functional Connectivity
• Methods include:
– Seed analysis
– Inverse covariance methods
– Multivariate decomposition methods
§ Principle Components Analysis
§ Independent Components Analysis
§ Partial Least Squares
Scope of Inference
• A goal of functional connectivity analysis is to
make inferences on the structure of relationships
among brain regions
– “These regions form a network”
– “Regions are more connected during task A than B…”
– “This task is associated with activation of pain
pathways…”
Brain Connectivity
• Effective Connectivity
– Directed influence of one brain region on the
physiological activity recorded in other brain regions.
– Claims to make statements about causal effects among
tasks and regions.
– Usually makes anatomically motivated assumptions and
restricts inference to networks comprising of a number of
pre-selected regions of interest.
V5
V1 PPC
Effective Connectivity
• Methods:
– Structural Equation Modeling
– Granger Causality
– Dynamic Causal Modeling
– Bayes Net
Scope of Inference
• A goal of effective connectivity analysis is to make
statements about causal effects among tasks and
regions.
– “Frontal cortex enhances connectivity between visual
areas and hippocampus.”
– “VMPFC inhibits the amygdala”
Levels of Analysis
• Connectivity can be studied at different levels
of analysis, with different interpretations at
each.
• Connectivity across time can reveal networks
that are dynamically activated across time.
• Connectivity across trials can identify coherent
networks of task related activations.
Levels of Analysis
• Connectivity across subjects can reveal
patterns of coherent individual differences.
• Connectivity across studies can reveal
tendencies for studies to co-activate within sets
of regions.
End of Module
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