TY - JOUR
T1 - The most relevant human brain regions for functional connectivity
T2 - Evidence for a dynamical workspace of binding nodes from whole-brain computational modelling
AU - Deco, Gustavo
AU - van Hartevelt, Tim J.
AU - Fernandes, Henrique M.
AU - Stevner, Angus B.A.
AU - Kringelbach, Morten L.
PY - 2017/2/1
Y1 - 2017/2/1
N2 - In order to promote survival through flexible cognition and goal-directed behaviour, the brain has to optimize segregation and integration of information into coherent, distributed dynamical states. Certain organizational features of the brain have been proposed to be essential to facilitate cognitive flexibility, especially hub regions in the so-called rich club which show dense interconnectivity. These structural hubs have been suggested to be vital for integration and segregation of information. Yet, this has not been evaluated in terms of resulting functional temporal dynamics. A complementary measure covering the temporal aspects of functional connectivity could thus bring new insights into a more complete picture of the integrative nature of brain networks. Here, we use causal whole-brain computational modelling to determine the functional dynamical significance of the rich club and compare this to a new measure of the most functionally relevant brain regions for binding information over time (“dynamical workspace of binding nodes”). We found that removal of the iteratively generated workspace of binding nodes impacts significantly more on measures of integration and encoding of information capability than the removal of the rich club regions. While the rich club procedure produced almost half of the binding nodes, the remaining nodes have low degree yet still play a significant role in the workspace essential for binding information over time and as such goes beyond a description of the structural backbone.
AB - In order to promote survival through flexible cognition and goal-directed behaviour, the brain has to optimize segregation and integration of information into coherent, distributed dynamical states. Certain organizational features of the brain have been proposed to be essential to facilitate cognitive flexibility, especially hub regions in the so-called rich club which show dense interconnectivity. These structural hubs have been suggested to be vital for integration and segregation of information. Yet, this has not been evaluated in terms of resulting functional temporal dynamics. A complementary measure covering the temporal aspects of functional connectivity could thus bring new insights into a more complete picture of the integrative nature of brain networks. Here, we use causal whole-brain computational modelling to determine the functional dynamical significance of the rich club and compare this to a new measure of the most functionally relevant brain regions for binding information over time (“dynamical workspace of binding nodes”). We found that removal of the iteratively generated workspace of binding nodes impacts significantly more on measures of integration and encoding of information capability than the removal of the rich club regions. While the rich club procedure produced almost half of the binding nodes, the remaining nodes have low degree yet still play a significant role in the workspace essential for binding information over time and as such goes beyond a description of the structural backbone.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85002050777&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.10.047
DO - 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.10.047
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85002050777
SN - 1053-8119
VL - 146
SP - 197
EP - 210
JO - NeuroImage
JF - NeuroImage
ER -