title: Functional connectivity in the brain--is it an elusive concept?
abstract: Even though functional brain connectivity is an influential concept in modern cognitive neuroscience, it is a very controversial notion. This is why further theoretical and methodological clarification are needed to help define precisely what is meant by functional connectivity and to help frame-associated issues. In this review we present the neurophysiological concept of functional connectivity, which utilizes in a plausible manner the notion of neural assemblies, as well as local and large-scale levels of description. Here functional connectivity is the mechanism for the coordination of activity between different neural assemblies in order to achieve a complex cognitive task or perceptual process. Our theoretical and empirical findings offer new insights into possible implications of the concept of functional connectivity for cognitive neuroscience.
authors.affiliation: BM-Science Brain and Mind Technologies Research Centre, PO Box 77, FI-02601 Espoo, Finland. andrew.fingelkurts@bm-science.com
authors.forename: Andrew A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Fingelkurts
authors.forename: Alexander A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Fingelkurts
authors.forename: Seppo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kähkönen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003210:Concept Formation / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology*; D009484:Neuropsychology; D009488:Neurosciences