Toward discovery science of human brain function

Abstract

Although it is being successfully implemented for exploration of the genome, discovery science has eluded the functional neuroimaging community. The core challenge remains the development of common paradigms for interrogating the myriad functional systems in the brain without the constraints of a priori hypotheses. Resting-state functional MRI (R-fMRI) constitutes a candidate approach capable of addressing this challenge. Imaging the brain during rest reveals large-amplitude spontaneous low-frequency (<0.1 Hz) fluctuations in the fMRI signal that are temporally correlated across functionally related areas. Referred to as functional connectivity, these correlations yield detailed maps of complex neural systems, collectively constituting an individual's “functional connectome.” Reproducibility across datasets and individuals suggests the functional connectome has a common architecture, yet each individual's functional connectome exhibits unique features, with stable, meaningful interindividual differences in connectivity patterns and strengths. Comprehensive mapping of the functional connectome, and its subsequent exploitation to discern genetic influences and brain–behavior relationships, will require multicenter collaborative datasets. Here we initiate this endeavor by gathering R-fMRI data from 1,414 volunteers collected independently at 35 international centers. We demonstrate a universal architecture of positive and negative functional connections, as well as consistent loci of inter-individual variability. Age and sex emerged as significant determinants. These results demonstrate that independent R-fMRI datasets can be aggregated and shared. High-throughput R-fMRI can provide quantitative phenotypes for molecular genetic studies and biomarkers of developmental and pathological processes in the brain. To initiate discovery science of brain function, the 1000 Functional Connectomes Project dataset is freely accessible at www.nitrc.org/projects/fcon_1000/ .

Keywords

Affiliated Institutions

• Western University CA
• Harvard University US
• Copenhagen University Hospital DK
• Harvard–MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology US
• Beijing Normal University CN
• Yale University US
• Duke University Hospital US
• Leiden University Medical Center NL
• Emory University US
• Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences DE
• Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin DE
• Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg DE
• National Yang Ming University Hospital TW
• National Institute of Mental Health US
• University of Oxford GB
• Hope Center for Neurological Disorders US
• The University of Texas at Dallas US
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute US
• Bangor University GB
• Technical University of Munich DE
• National Institutes of Health US
• Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research US
• Cleveland Clinic US
• Oulu University Hospital FI
• The University of Queensland AU
• Chinese Academy of Sciences CN
• University of Pittsburgh US
• Medical University of Vienna AT
• National Imaging Facility AU
• Medical College of Wisconsin US
• National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University TW
• Duke Medical Center US
• Zhongda Hospital Southeast University CN
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology US
• University of Oulu FI
• NYU Langone Health US
• University of Michigan US
• Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences CN
• Hvidovre Hospital DK
• Oregon Health & Science University US
• Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey US
• Kennedy Krieger Institute US
• Washington University in St. Louis US
• Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging GB
• Radboud University Nijmegen NL
• Klinikum rechts der Isar DE

Related Publications