On the spatiotemporal organization of spontaneous brain dynamics

Abstract:

In the absence of a prescribed task - a state named rest, a number of alpha frequency band oscillations have been observed in the neural activity of the brain. In the last two decades, the blood-oxygen level dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD fMRI) signal fluctuations during rest have been found to exhibit remarkable spatial patterns, the so called resting state networks. These networks have recently been found in the magnetoencephalographic signal in the alpha and beta frequency bands. The reasons for such a spatiotemporal organization of the neural activity of the brain are poorly known. Using a large-scale model of the brain where local neural networks are interconnected through white matter fiber tracts, I will show how such an organization of the spontaneous activity of the brain can emerge. I will also show how intracranial electroencepholagraphy recordings in epileptic patients and BOLD fMRI data support the model findings.