Metastability, fractal scaling, and synergistic information processing: what phase relationships reveal about intrinsic brain activity
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) in resting-state fMRI holds promise to deliver candidate biomarkers for clinical applications. However, the reliability and interpretability of dFC metrics remain contested. Despite a myriad of methodologies and resulting measures, few studies have combined metrics derived from different conceptualizations of brain functioning within the same analysis - perhaps missing an opportunity for improved interpretability. Using a complexity-science approach, we assessed the reliability and interrelationships of a battery of phase-based dFC metrics including tools originating from dynamical systems, stochastic processes, and information dynamics approaches. Our analysis revealed novel relationships between these metrics, which allowed us to build a predictive model for integrated information using metrics from dynamical systems and information theory. Furthermore, global metastability - a metric reflecting simultaneous tendencies for coupling and decoupling - was found to be the most representative and stable metric in brain parcellations that included cerebellar regions. Additionally, spatiotemporal patterns of phase-locking were found to change in a slow, non-random, continuous manner over time. Taken together, our findings show that the majority of characteristics of resting-state fMRI dynamics reflect an interrelated dynamical and informational complexity profile, which is unique to each acquisition. This finding challenges the interpretation of results from cross-sectional designs for brain neuromarker discovery, suggesting that individual life-trajectories may be more informative than sample means.
Date Issued
2022-10-01
Date Acceptance
2022-06-29
Citation
NeuroImage, 2022, 259, pp.1-16
ISSN
1053-8119
Publisher
Elsevier
Start Page
1
End Page
16
Journal / Book Title
NeuroImage
Volume
259
Copyright Statement
1053-8119/© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35781077
PII: S1053-8119(22)00550-X
Subjects
Complexity
Dynamic functional connectivity
Fractal scaling
Functional magnetic resonance imaging
Integrated information
LEiDA
Metastability
Brain
Brain Mapping
Cross-Sectional Studies
Fractals
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Reproducibility of Results
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
United States
Article Number
119433
Date Publish Online
2022-07-01