title: Fast transient networks in spontaneous human brain activity.
abstract: To provide an effective substrate for cognitive processes, functional brain networks should be able to reorganize and coordinate on a sub-second temporal scale. We used magnetoencephalography recordings of spontaneous activity to characterize whole-brain functional connectivity dynamics at high temporal resolution. Using a novel approach that identifies the points in time at which unique patterns of activity recur, we reveal transient (100-200 ms) brain states with spatial topographies similar to those of well-known resting state networks. By assessing temporal changes in the occurrence of these states, we demonstrate that within-network functional connectivity is underpinned by coordinated neuronal dynamics that fluctuate much more rapidly than has previously been shown. We further evaluate cross-network interactions, and show that anticorrelation between the default mode network and parietal regions of the dorsal attention network is consistent with an inability of the system to transition directly between two transient brain states. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.01867.001.
authors.affiliation: Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Adam P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.forename: Matthew J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Brookes
authors.forename: Iead A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Rezek
authors.forename: Stephen M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Behrens
authors.forename: Penny J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Probert Smith
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Woolrich
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D015225:Magnetoencephalography; D008564:Membrane Potentials; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D012146:Rest; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted
keywords: connectivity; hidden Markov model; magnetoencephalography; microstates; non-stationary; resting state