Program in Neuroscience, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.
Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida.
Hum Brain Mapp. 2021 Oct 1;42(14):4740-4749. doi: 10.1002/hbm.25581. Epub 2021 Jul 26.
The insular cortex and anterior cingulate cortex together comprise the salience or midcingulo-insular network, involved in detecting salient events and initiating control signals to mediate brain network dynamics. The extent to which functional coupling between the salience network and the rest of the brain undergoes changes due to development and aging is at present largely unexplored. Here, we examine dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) of the salience network in a large life span sample (n = 601; 6-85 years old). A sliding-window analysis and k-means clustering revealed five states of dFC formed with the salience network, characterized by either widespread asynchrony or different patterns of synchrony between the salience network and other brain regions. We determined the frequency, dwell time, total transitions, and specific state-to-state transitions for each state and subject, regressing the metrics with subjects' age to identify life span trends. A dynamic state characterized by low connectivity between the salience network and the rest of the brain had a strong positive quadratic relationship between age and both frequency and dwell time. Additional frequency, dwell time, total transitions, and state-to-state transition trends were observed with other salience network states. Our results highlight the metastable dynamics of the salience network and its role in the maturation of brain regions critical for cognition.
脑岛和前扣带回皮质共同构成了突显网络或中扣带回网络，参与检测突显事件并启动控制信号，以调节大脑网络的动态。突显网络与大脑其他区域之间的功能耦合在多大程度上因发育和衰老而发生变化，目前在很大程度上仍未得到探索。在这里，我们在一个大的生命周期样本（n=601；6-85 岁）中检查了突显网络的动态功能连接（dFC）。滑动窗口分析和 k-均值聚类揭示了突显网络形成的五种 dFC 状态，其特征是突显网络与其他大脑区域之间存在广泛的去同步或不同的同步模式。我们确定了每个状态和个体的频率、停留时间、总转换次数以及特定的状态间转换次数，并将这些指标与个体的年龄进行回归，以确定生命周期趋势。一个以突显网络与大脑其他区域之间连接性低为特征的动态状态，其频率和停留时间与年龄之间存在强烈的二次正相关关系。在其他突显网络状态中也观察到了额外的频率、停留时间、总转换次数和状态间转换趋势。我们的结果强调了突显网络的亚稳态动力学及其在对认知至关重要的大脑区域成熟过程中的作用。
