title: Fiber-centered Granger causality analysis.
abstract: Granger causality analysis (GCA) has been well-established in the brain imaging field. However, the structural underpinnings and functional dynamics of Granger causality remain unclear. In this paper, we present fiber-centered GCA studies on resting state fMRI and natural stimulus fMRI datasets in order to elucidate the structural substrates and functional dynamics of GCA. Specifically, we extract the fMRI BOLD signals from the two ends of a white matter fiber derived from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data, and examine their Granger causalities. Our experimental results showed that Granger causalities on white matter fibers are significantly stronger than the causalities between brain regions that are not fiber-connected, demonstrating the structural underpinning of functional causality seen in resting state fMRI data. Cross-session and cross-subject comparisons showed that our observations are reproducible both within and across subjects. Also, the fiber-centered GCA approach was applied on natural stimulus fMRI data and our results suggest that Granger causalities on DTI-derived fibers reveal significant temporal changes, offering novel insights into the functional dynamics of the brain.
authors: Department of Computer Science and Bioimaging Research Center, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
authors: Xiang
authors: X
authors: Li
authors: Kaiming
authors: K
authors: Li
authors: Lei
authors: L
authors: Guo
authors: Chulwoo
authors: C
authors: Lim
authors: Tianming
authors: T
authors: Liu
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods*; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009413:Nerve Fibers, Myelinated / Q000473:pathology*; D009991:Oscillometry / Q000379:methods; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013997:Time Factors