Resting-State Functional Connectivity: Signal Origins and Analytic Methods

Kai Chen; Azeezat Azeez; Donna Y Chen; Bharat B Biswal

doi:10.1016/j.nic.2019.09.012

Resting-State Functional Connectivity: Signal Origins and Analytic Methods

Neuroimaging Clin N Am. 2020 Feb;30(1):15-23. doi: 10.1016/j.nic.2019.09.012.

Authors

Kai Chen¹, Azeezat Azeez², Donna Y Chen², Bharat B Biswal³

Affiliations

¹ The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, Center for Information in Medicine, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, No.2006, Xiyuan Avenue, West Hi-Tech Zone, Chengdu, Sichuan 611731, China.
² Department of Biomedical Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, 619 Fenster Hall, Newark, NJ 07102, USA.
³ The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, Center for Information in Medicine, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, No.2006, Xiyuan Avenue, West Hi-Tech Zone, Chengdu, Sichuan 611731, China; Department of Biomedical Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, 619 Fenster Hall, Newark, NJ 07102, USA. Electronic address: bbiswal@gmail.com.

PMID: 31759568
DOI: 10.1016/j.nic.2019.09.012

Abstract

Resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) has been widely studied in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and is observed by a significant temporal correlation of spontaneous low-frequency signal fluctuations (SLFs) both within and across hemispheres during rest. Different hypotheses of RSFC include the biophysical origin hypothesis and cognitive origin hypothesis, which show that the role of SLFs and RSFC is still not completely understood. Furthermore, RSFC and age studies have shown an "age-related compensation" phenomenon. RSFC data analysis methods include time domain analysis, seed-based correlation, regional homogeneity, and principal and independent component analyses. Despite advances in RSFC, the authors also discuss challenges and limitations, ranging from head motion to methodological limitations.

Keywords: BOLD signal; Brain connectivity; Functional MRI; Functional connectivity; Psychoradiology; Resting state; Resting-state functional connectivity.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Age Factors
Brain / diagnostic imaging
Brain / physiology
Brain Mapping / methods*
Cerebrum / diagnostic imaging
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods*
Neural Pathways / diagnostic imaging
Neuropsychological Tests
Rest
Temporal Lobe / diagnostic imaging