NeuroImagePub Date : 2025-09-10DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121454
Louisa L. Smith , Naomi P. Friedman , Monica Luciana , Marie T. Banich
{"title":"Functional connectivity patterns of the fronto-parietal and cingulo-opercular networks demonstrate distinct associations with individual differences in cognitive control during early adolescence","authors":"Louisa L. Smith , Naomi P. Friedman , Monica Luciana , Marie T. Banich","doi":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121454","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121454","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cognitive control refers to a set of mental processes that enable individuals to flexibly and adaptively engage in goal-directed behavior. Adolescence is characterized by the emergence and subsequent rapid development of adult-like cognitive control abilities, and as such, there is great interest in understanding the neural basis of this maturational process. The goal of the present study was to investigate how the resting-state and task-based functional connectivity (FC) patterns of two brain networks implicated in control processes, the fronto-parietal network (FPN) and the cingulo-opercular network (CON), contribute to individual differences in the cognitive control abilities of young adolescents. Specifically, we examined whether the FPN and the CON play distinct roles in the implementation of control as evidenced by unique associations with individual differences in cognitive control. We further investigated whether coordinated processing between the FPN and the CON supports the successful engagement of cognitive control. We explored these issues in a large sample (<em>n</em> = 3719) of 9–10 year olds drawn from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development℠ Study. Our results provide evidence that youth with higher levels of cognitive control showed more isolation of the FPN from other networks, while the CON showed greater flexibility in its connectivity with other networks across rest and task. We additionally demonstrate that individuals with higher levels of cognitive control exhibit greater differentiation between the FPN and the CON. Together, these findings support developmental theories highlighting the importance of neural processing within and across the FPN and the CON during adolescence.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19299,"journal":{"name":"NeuroImage","volume":"320 ","pages":"Article 121454"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145054660","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
NeuroImagePub Date : 2025-09-10DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121453
M. Di Stefano , T. Ciceri , A. Leemans , S.M.C. de Zwarte , A. De Luca , D. Peruzzo
{"title":"Diffusion MRI of the prenatal fetal brain: a methodological scoping review","authors":"M. Di Stefano , T. Ciceri , A. Leemans , S.M.C. de Zwarte , A. De Luca , D. Peruzzo","doi":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121453","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121453","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Fetal diffusion-weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging (dMRI) represents a promising modality for the assessment of white matter fiber organization, microstructure and development during pregnancy. Over the past two decades, research using this technology has significantly increased, but no consensus has yet been established on how to best implement and standardize the use of fetal dMRI across clinical and research settings.</div></div><div><h3>Aims</h3><div>This scoping review aims to synthesize the various methodological approaches for the analysis of fetal dMRI brain data and their applications.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We identified a total of 54 relevant articles and analyzed them across five primary domains: (1) datasets, (2) acquisition protocols, (3) image preprocessing/denoising, (4) image processing/modeling, and (5) brain atlas construction.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The review of these articles reveals a predominant reliance on Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) (<em>n</em> = 37) to study fiber properties, and deterministic tractography approaches to investigate fiber organization (<em>n</em> = 23). However, there is an emerging trend towards the adoption of more advanced techniques that address the inherent limitations of fetal dMRI (e.g. maternal and fetal motion, intensity artifacts, fetus’s fast and uneven development), particularly through the application of artificial intelligence-based approaches (<em>n</em> = 8). In our view, the results suggest that the potential of fetal brain dMRI is hindered by the methodological heterogeneity of the proposed solutions and the lack of publicly available data and tools. Nevertheless, clinical applications demonstrate its utility in studying brain development in both healthy and pathological conditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19299,"journal":{"name":"NeuroImage","volume":"320 ","pages":"Article 121453"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145054645","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Distinct prefrontal lateralization in placebo and reappraisal mechanisms: An ALE meta-analysis","authors":"Bianca Monachesi , Elisabetta Pisanu , Daniele Chiffi , Raffaella Ida Rumiati , Alessandro Grecucci","doi":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121459","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121459","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cognitive reappraisal is an emotional regulation strategy by which the individual changes the perspective on a situation to alter its emotional impact. Similar reinterpretation mechanisms have been associated with the placebo effect in which beliefs about the efficacy of a treatment modulate subjective experience and physiological responses. This analogy raises the hypothesis that reappraisal and placebo may share neural networks. However, despite previous efforts to identify these networks separately, there has been no recent systematic comparison using a whole-brain meta-analytic approach. To fill this gap, in the current study, we performed a coordinate-based ALE meta-analysis of task-based fMRI studies investigating reappraisal and placebo. Results show that both processes recruit the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), highlighting the shared cognitive control mechanisms by which they modify the emotional response. However, reappraisal primarily engages the <em>left</em> portion of the DLPFC, along with the ventrolateral PFC and dorsomedial PFC, while placebo primarily engages the <em>right</em> portion of the DLPFC. These results show that despite common general aspects, reappraisal and placebo are different in nature and rely on different neuropsychological mechanisms. We discuss possible explanations and their implications for clinical practice and future research.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19299,"journal":{"name":"NeuroImage","volume":"320 ","pages":"Article 121459"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145054653","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
NeuroImagePub Date : 2025-09-10DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121450
Dahyeon Kang , Catharine E. Fairbairn , Jiaxu Han , Kara D. Federmeier
{"title":"The impact of alcohol on brain response in social context: A hyperscanning alcohol-administration trial","authors":"Dahyeon Kang , Catharine E. Fairbairn , Jiaxu Han , Kara D. Federmeier","doi":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121450","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121450","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Evidence for the integration of alcohol into social life dates to the beginning of recorded history. Humans’ tendency to combine social interaction with alcohol has been attributed to alcohol’s ability to shift social perception, with behavioral research suggesting alcohol fosters social connection and diminishes perceived social threat. Yet the acute effects of alcohol on brain responses in social context are as yet unexplored. Combining experimental alcohol-administration with an EEG hyperscanning paradigm, the current study examines the effect of alcohol on evaluation of self- and other-linked performance. Social drinkers (<em>N</em> = 128) were administered either an alcoholic (target BAC 0.08 %) or control beverage in pairs. Dyads engaged in a gambling task while event-related potential Feedback Effects (FEs) to wins and losses were assessed simultaneously in both participants. Findings indicated a significant correlation in FEs among players and observers. Results further revealed alcohol effects that emerged specifically in the social domain, with alcohol intoxication significantly reducing the magnitude of FEs among observers paired with a stranger. In contrast, alcohol’s impact on FEs was non-significant when participants observed a familiar partner, as well as when participants were actively engaged in playing. Taken together, findings provide evidence for core social (e.g., observational) dimensions of human cognition and further offer clues surrounding neural pathways supporting the widespread integration of alcohol into social life.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19299,"journal":{"name":"NeuroImage","volume":"320 ","pages":"Article 121450"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145054593","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
NeuroImagePub Date : 2025-09-10DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121458
Nathan M. Petro , Mikki Schantell , Mia C. Lulli , Kellen M. McDonald , Chloe C. Casagrande , Christine M. Embury , Hannah J. Okelberry , Jason A. John , Ryan Glesinger , Lucy K. Horne , Giorgia Picci , Tony W. Wilson
{"title":"Spatiotemporal dynamics of multispectral oscillatory activity underlying the processing of negative and positive emotional images","authors":"Nathan M. Petro , Mikki Schantell , Mia C. Lulli , Kellen M. McDonald , Chloe C. Casagrande , Christine M. Embury , Hannah J. Okelberry , Jason A. John , Ryan Glesinger , Lucy K. Horne , Giorgia Picci , Tony W. Wilson","doi":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121458","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121458","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Behavioral and neural responses to visual scenes depicting potential threat or harm constitute core aspects of human behavior and can illuminate symptoms of internalizing disorders. Decades of research have shown that negative content undergoes facilitated processing across a distributed brain network whereby perception is facilitated, and cognitive systems appraise the stimulus to regulate emotions and plan motor action. However, relatively limited studies have examined the multispectral dynamics underlying the neural processing of negative emotional images, with mixed results among existing studies. Herein, we used magnetoencephalography (MEG) to derive dynamic functional maps of positive and negative image processing in healthy adults. Alpha (from 200 to 700 ms) and beta (from 200 to 550 ms) oscillations were stronger for negative images in primary and ventral visual regions, as well as parietal and prefrontal cortices (all <em>p</em>s < .005). Similarly, theta activation was stronger for negative images in ventral temporal cortex (<em>p</em> < .001) from 0 to 250 ms. Lastly, gamma oscillatory activity was stronger for negative images in the pre-supplementary motor area (<em>p</em> < .005) from 150 to 500 ms. These results are consistent with the literature in regard to the critical brain regions involved in emotional processing, but importantly also delineate the multispectral oscillatory dynamics within these regions that support the swift synthesis of low-level visual inputs, appraise emotional meaning, and guide appropriate motor system activation (as necessary) to avoid harm.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19299,"journal":{"name":"NeuroImage","volume":"320 ","pages":"Article 121458"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145054633","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
NeuroImagePub Date : 2025-09-10DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121460
L. Musa , A. Ghaderi , Y. Chen , J.D. Crawford
{"title":"Spatial task instructions and global activation trends influence functional modularity in the cortical reach network","authors":"L. Musa , A. Ghaderi , Y. Chen , J.D. Crawford","doi":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121460","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121460","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Humans can be instructed to ignore visual cues or use them as landmarks for aiming movements (Musa et al. 2024), but it is not known how such allocentric cues interact with egocentric target codes and general planning activity to influence cortical network properties. To answer these questions, we applied graph theory analysis (GTA) to a previously described fMRI dataset (Chen et al. 2014). Participants were instructed to reach toward targets defined in egocentric or landmark-centered (allocentric) coordinates. During <em>Egocentric</em> pointing, cortical nodes clustered into four bilateral modules with correlated BOLD signals: a superior occipital-parietal / somatomotor module, an inferior parietal / lateral frontal module, a superior temporal / inferior frontal module, and an inferior occipital-temporal / prefrontal module. The <em>Allocentric</em> task showed only three modules, in part because inferior occipital nodes were incorporated into the superior occipital-parietal / somatomotor module. Both tasks engaged local (within module) and global (between module) cortical hubs, but the <em>Allocentric</em> task recruited additional hubs associated with allocentric visual codes and ego-allocentric integration. Removing reach-related activation trends reduced global synchrony and increased clustering, specifically diminishing dorsoventral coupling in the allocentric task. Cross-validated decoding and network parameter – reach error correlations confirmed that modularity was the best predictor of both task and specific behavioral measures. These results demonstrate that activation trends related to motor plans influence global network integration, whereas task instructions influence intermediate / local network properties, specifically the increased modular integration and hub recruitment observed in our <em>Allocentric</em> task.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19299,"journal":{"name":"NeuroImage","volume":"320 ","pages":"Article 121460"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145054681","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
NeuroImagePub Date : 2025-09-09DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121449
Ruth Abulafia , Pieter B. de Best , Ayelet McKyton , Adi Vaknin-Dembinsky , Panayiota Petrou , Atira S. Bick , Netta Levin
{"title":"Cortical visual field representation and data integration following optic neuritis","authors":"Ruth Abulafia , Pieter B. de Best , Ayelet McKyton , Adi Vaknin-Dembinsky , Panayiota Petrou , Atira S. Bick , Netta Levin","doi":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121449","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121449","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Optic neuritis (ON) is an inflammatory, demyelinating optic neuropathy commonly associated with multiple sclerosis. Its clinical presentation typically includes monocular vision loss, with most visual functions recovering within several weeks. In addition to spontaneous remyelination, brain adaptation has been suggested to play a role in the recovery process.</div><div>To further investigate this hypothesis, we examined cortical visual field representation and data integration during the first year following a first-ever ON episode. Eight ON participants and ten controls underwent fMRI scans under three viewing conditions: two monocular conditions (affected/fellow eye for ON; dominant/non-dominant eye for controls) and one binocular condition (both eyes open). For each condition, population receptive field (pRF) and connective field (CF) modeling were applied to assess spatial properties and sampling extent across the early visual cortical hierarchy (V1–V3).</div><div>Consistent with previous studies, controls demonstrated an increase in average pRF and CF sizes along the visual hierarchy, with no significant differences between viewing conditions. In contrast, the ON group exhibited unique patterns. In the fellow eye condition, the typical pRF size increase along the visual hierarchy was absent, primarily due to reduced pRF sizes in V3. Additionally, in the affected eye, CF sizes were significantly larger than in the fellow eye.</div><div>These modulations may reflect enhanced resolution for the unaffected eye and an increased extent of data processing when visual input is impaired (originating from the affected nerve). Therefore, we suggest that these cortical changes may be part of a spatial adaptation mechanism.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19299,"journal":{"name":"NeuroImage","volume":"320 ","pages":"Article 121449"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145040898","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Imprints of extreme prematurity on functional brain networks in school-aged children and adolescents","authors":"Maksym Tokariev , Virve Vuontela , Anton Tokariev , Piia Lönnberg , Sture Andersson , Helena Mäenpää , Marjo Metsäranta , Aulikki Lano , Synnöve Carlson","doi":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121447","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121447","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cognitive functions emerge from dynamic functional interplay of cortical and subcortical areas that form networks. Preterm birth poses a risk for the formation and functionality of brain networks which may lead to severe brain dysfunctions. Infants born extremely preterm have the highest risk of developing neurocognitive impairments. However, it is still poorly understood how functional brain networks are organized and linked with the cognitive impairments in extremely prematurely born children and adolescents. We applied network-based statistics to study functional network connectivity during two brain-states, resting-state (Rest) and visuospatial working memory n-back tasks (Task), in a unique cohort of extremely preterm-born school-aged children and adolescents (n = 24, mean age 10.3 y, range 7.4–16.4 y) with normal general cognitive abilities and in their term-born peers (n = 22, mean age 9.5 y, range 7.4–13.7 y). We found significant group differences in functional connectivity strength in networks that support complex cognitive performance. The preterm group, compared with controls, modulated functional connectivity between Rest and Task differently within the dorsal attention (DAN, p = 0.016), default mode (DMN, p = 0.026) and visual (VN, p = 0.022) networks, and between DMN – DAN (p = 0.024), DMN – ventral attention network (VAN) (p = 0.035), and DMN – frontoparietal network (FPN) (p = 0.015). The groups also showed opposite age-related changes in connectivity strength within the DAN (Task, p = 0.005; Rest, p = 0.012), DMN (Task, p = 0.015) and FPN (Task, p = 0.002), and between the DAN – VAN (p = 0.047) and DAN – FPN (p = 0.009) during Rest, and FPN – VAN (p =0.028), DAN – FPN (p = 0.006), DMN – DAN (p = 0.042), DMN – VAN (p = 0.023), and DMN – FPN (p = 0.007) during Task. In controls, stronger within-network connectivity associated with better n-back task performance, whereas in the preterm group, stronger between-network connectivity associated with poorer performance. These results suggest that adjustment of functional connectivity to the cognitive demands supports successful performance in school-aged children and adolescents and that extremely preterm birth compromises the dynamics and developmental trajectories of brain networks.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19299,"journal":{"name":"NeuroImage","volume":"320 ","pages":"Article 121447"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145033681","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
NeuroImagePub Date : 2025-09-06DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121446
Marten Nuyts , Mikkel Malling Beck , Agata Banach , Axel Thielscher , Raf Meesen , Leo Tomasevic , Hartwig Roman Siebner , Lasse Christiansen
{"title":"Rostro-caudal TMS mapping of immediate transcranial evoked potentials reveals a pericentral crescendo-decrescendo pattern","authors":"Marten Nuyts , Mikkel Malling Beck , Agata Banach , Axel Thielscher , Raf Meesen , Leo Tomasevic , Hartwig Roman Siebner , Lasse Christiansen","doi":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121446","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121446","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>We recently demonstrated that single-pulse TMS of the primary sensorimotor hand area (SM1<sub>HAND</sub>) elicits an immediate transcranial evoked potential (iTEP). This iTEP response appears within 2–8 ms post-TMS, featuring high-frequency peaks superimposed on a slow positive wave. Here, we used a linear TMS-EEG mapping approach to characterize the rostro-caudal iTEP expression and compared it to that of motor-evoked potentials (MEPs).</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>In 15 healthy young volunteers (9 females), we identified the iTEP hotspot in left SM1<sub>HAND</sub>. We applied single biphasic TMS pulses at an intensity of 110 % of resting motor threshold over six cortical sites along a rostro-caudal axis (2 cm rostral to 3 cm caudal to the SM1<sub>HAND</sub> hotspot). We analyzed site-specific iTEP and MEP responses.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>iTEP magnitude decreased rostrally and caudally from the SM1<sub>HAND</sub> hotspot. MEPs exhibited a similar rostro-caudal crescendo-decrescendo pattern. While iTEP and MEP response profiles were similar, normalized iTEP amplitudes decayed less rapidly at the first postcentral site.</div></div><div><h3>Discussion</h3><div>These findings support the idea that pericentral iTEPs reflect a direct response signature of the pericentral cortex, possibly involving a synchronized TMS-induced excitation of cortical pyramidal tract neurons. Similar but non-identical rostro-caudal patterns suggest that iTEPs and MEPs may arise from overlapping but distinct neuronal populations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19299,"journal":{"name":"NeuroImage","volume":"319 ","pages":"Article 121446"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145019419","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
NeuroImagePub Date : 2025-09-05DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121443
Xuyang Wang , Ting Zou , Haofei Wang , Honghao Han , Huafu Chen , Vince D. Calhoun , Rong Li
{"title":"A dynamic spatiotemporal representation framework for deciphering personal brain function","authors":"Xuyang Wang , Ting Zou , Haofei Wang , Honghao Han , Huafu Chen , Vince D. Calhoun , Rong Li","doi":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121443","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121443","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) opens a window on observing spontaneous activities of the human brain in vivo. However, the high complexity of fMRI signals makes brain functional representations intractable. Here, we introduce a state decomposition method to reduce this complexity and decipher individual brain functions at multiple levels. Briefly, brain dynamics are captured by temporal first-order derivatives and spatially divided into ‘state sets’ at each time point based on the velocity and direction of change. This approach transforms the original signals into discrete series consisting of four fundamental states, which efficiently encode individual-specific information. Subsequently, we designed a suite of state-based metrics to quantify regional activities and network interactions. Compared with conventional representations such as resting-state fluctuation amplitude and Pearson’s functional connectivity, the state-based representations serve as more discriminative ‘brain fingerprints’ for individuals and produce reproducible spatial patterns across heterogeneous cohorts (<em>n</em> = 1015). Regarding functional organization, our proposed profiles extend previous representations into nonlinear domains, revealing not only the canonical default-mode dominant pattern but also patterns dominated by the attention network and basal ganglia. Moreover, we demonstrate that personal phenotypes (such as age and gender) can be decoded from regional representations with high accuracy. The equivalence between state series outperforms other existing network representations in predicting individual fluid intelligence. Overall, this framework establishes a foundation for enriching the repertoire of brain functional representations and enhancing the power of brain-phenotype modeling.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19299,"journal":{"name":"NeuroImage","volume":"319 ","pages":"Article 121443"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145010696","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}