Relation between Spontaneous BOLD Fluctuations and Brain Connectivity

描述(由申请人提供)： 血氧水平依赖(BOLD)fMRI信号在各种条件下表现出自发的波动，甚至在没有任务的情况下也是如此。值得注意的是，这些波动与大脑功能和解剖相关的区域相关，表明存在支持正在进行的大脑活动的内在组织。神经障碍和精神疾病已被证明以独特的方式扰乱这些波动，有朝一日可能具有诊断和预后价值。这项研究的目的是了解这些自发波动的组织。这不仅将进一步加深我们对大脑如何在健康中发挥作用的理解，而且还将如何解释疾病中这些信号中的干扰。使用将在这项功能磁共振研究中收集的自发BOLD波动数据，将应用新方法来确定内在网络中成员区域之间的优先连通性(目标1)以及这些区域中影响的方向性(目标2)。这两条信息是任何网络如何运作的关键组成部分，从大脑架构到社会互动再到经济。 这项研究的目的是了解人脑的内在功能。大脑固有活动的改变与各种神经和精神疾病有关。这项研究将提供与健康和疾病的大脑功能相关的信息。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) fMRI signal exhibits spontaneous fluctuations in a variety of conditions, even in the absence of task. Remarkably, these fluctuations are correlated in regions of the brain that are functionally and anatomically related, suggesting an intrinsic organization is present that supports ongoing brain activity. Neurologic disorders and psychiatric diseases have been shown to disrupt these fluctuations in characteristic ways which may one day have diagnostic and prognostic value. The objective of this research is to understand the organization of these spontaneous fluctuations. Not only will this further our understanding of how the brain functions in health, but also how to interpret disturbances in these signals in disease. Using spontaneous BOLD fluctuation data that will be collected in this fMRI study, novel methods will be applied to determine preferential connectivity among member regions in intrinsic networks (Aim 1) and the directionality of influences in these regions (Aim 2). These two pieces of information are key components to how any network functions, from brain architecture to social interactions to economics. The objective of this study is to understand the intrinsic functioning of the human brain. Alterations in intrinsic brain activity are associated with a variety of neurologic and psychiatric diseases. This research will provide information relevant for brain function both in health and disease.