title: Direction of information flow in large-scale resting-state networks is frequency-dependent.
abstract: Normal brain function requires interactions between spatially separated, and functionally specialized, macroscopic regions, yet the directionality of these interactions in large-scale functional networks is unknown. Magnetoencephalography was used to determine the directionality of these interactions, where directionality was inferred from time series of beamformer-reconstructed estimates of neuronal activation, using a recently proposed measure of phase transfer entropy. We observed well-organized posterior-to-anterior patterns of information flow in the higher-frequency bands (alpha1, alpha2, and beta band), dominated by regions in the visual cortex and posterior default mode network. Opposite patterns of anterior-to-posterior flow were found in the theta band, involving mainly regions in the frontal lobe that were sending information to a more distributed network. Many strong information senders in the theta band were also frequent receivers in the alpha2 band, and vice versa. Our results provide evidence that large-scale resting-state patterns of information flow in the human brain form frequency-dependent reentry loops that are dominated by flow from parieto-occipital cortex to integrative frontal areas in the higher-frequency bands, which is mirrored by a theta band anterior-to-posterior flow.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurophysiology and Magnetoencephalography Center, VU University Medical Center, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands; a.hillebrand@vumc.nl.
authors.forename: Arjan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hillebrand
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurophysiology and Magnetoencephalography Center, VU University Medical Center, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
authors.forename: Prejaas
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tewarie
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurophysiology and Magnetoencephalography Center, VU University Medical Center, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, University Medical Center Utrecht, 3508 GA Utrecht, The Netherlands;
authors.forename: Edwin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: van Dellen
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurophysiology and Magnetoencephalography Center, VU University Medical Center, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
authors.forename: Meichen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Neurosciences, VU University Medical Center, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
authors.forename: Ellen W S
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Carbo
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Neurosciences, VU University Medical Center, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129;
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Douw
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurophysiology and Magnetoencephalography Center, VU University Medical Center, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Alzheimer Center and Department of Neurology, VU University Medical Center, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
authors.forename: Alida A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Gouw
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurophysiology and Magnetoencephalography Center, VU University Medical Center, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Nutricia Advanced Medical Nutrition, Nutricia Research, 3584 CT Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Elisabeth C W
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: van Straaten
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurophysiology and Magnetoencephalography Center, VU University Medical Center, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
authors.forename: Cornelis J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Stam
mesh_terms: D001931:Brain Mapping; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D015225:Magnetoencephalography; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology*; D009778:Occipital Lobe / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: atlas-based beamforming; information flow; magnetoencephalography; phase transfer entropy; resting-state networks