TY - JOUR
T1 - Global waves synchronize the brain's functional systems with fluctuating arousal
AU - Raut, Ryan V.
AU - Snyder, Abraham Z.
AU - Mitra, Anish
AU - Yellin, Dov
AU - Fujii, Naotaka
AU - Malach, Rafael
AU - Raichle, Marcus E.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 American Association for the Advancement of Science. All rights reserved.
PY - 2021/7
Y1 - 2021/7
N2 - We propose and empirically support a parsimonious account of intrinsic, brain-wide spatiotemporal organization arising from traveling waves linked to arousal. We hypothesize that these waves are the predominant physiological process reflected in spontaneous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) signal fluctuations. The correlation structure ("functional connectivity") of these fluctuations recapitulates the large-scale functional organization of the brain. However, a unifying physiological account of this structure has so far been lacking. Here, using fMRI in humans, we show that ongoing arousal fluctuations are associated with global waves of activity that slowly propagate in parallel throughout the neocortex, thalamus, striatum, and cerebellum. We show that these waves can parsimoniously account for many features of spontaneous fMRI signal fluctuations, including topographically organized functional connectivity. Last, we demonstrate similar, cortex-wide propagation of neural activity measured with electrocorticography in macaques. These findings suggest that traveling waves spatiotemporally pattern brain-wide excitability in relation to arousal.
AB - We propose and empirically support a parsimonious account of intrinsic, brain-wide spatiotemporal organization arising from traveling waves linked to arousal. We hypothesize that these waves are the predominant physiological process reflected in spontaneous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) signal fluctuations. The correlation structure ("functional connectivity") of these fluctuations recapitulates the large-scale functional organization of the brain. However, a unifying physiological account of this structure has so far been lacking. Here, using fMRI in humans, we show that ongoing arousal fluctuations are associated with global waves of activity that slowly propagate in parallel throughout the neocortex, thalamus, striatum, and cerebellum. We show that these waves can parsimoniously account for many features of spontaneous fMRI signal fluctuations, including topographically organized functional connectivity. Last, we demonstrate similar, cortex-wide propagation of neural activity measured with electrocorticography in macaques. These findings suggest that traveling waves spatiotemporally pattern brain-wide excitability in relation to arousal.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85110960662&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1126/sciadv.abf2709
DO - 10.1126/sciadv.abf2709
M3 - Article
C2 - 34290088
AN - SCOPUS:85110960662
SN - 2375-2548
VL - 7
JO - Science Advances
JF - Science Advances
IS - 30
M1 - eabf2709
ER -