Reconstruction of resting-state networks from macaqueelectrocorticographic data

Abstract

The discovery of haemodynamic (BOLD-fMRI) resting-state networks (RSNs) has brought about a fundamental shift in our thinking about the role of intrinsic brain activity. The electrophysiological underpinnings of RSNs remain largely elusive and it has been shown only recently that electrophysiological cortical rhythms are organized into RSNs. Most electrophysiological studies into RSNs use magnetoencephalography (MEG) or electroencephalography (EEG), which limits the spatial scale on which RSNs can be investigated. Due to their close proximity to the cortical surface, electroencephalographic (ECoG) recordings can potentially provide a more detailed picture of the functional organization of resting-state cortical rhythms. In this study we propose using source-space independent component analysis for identifying generators of resting-state cortical rhythms as recorded with ECoG and reconstructing their network structure. Their network structure is characterized by two kinds of connectivity: instantaneous correlations between band-limited amplitude envelopes and oscillatory phase-locking. Using simulated data, we find that the reconstruction of oscillatory phase-locking is more challenging than that of amplitude correlations, particularly for low signal-to-noise levels. Specifically, phase-lags can both be over- and underestimated as a consequence of first-order and higher-order volume-conduction effects, which troubles the interpretation of interaction measures based on imaginary phase-locking or coherence. The methodology is applied to resting-state beta (15-30 Hz) rhythms within the motor system of a macaque monkey and leads to the identification of a functional network of seven cortical generators that are distributed across the sensorimotor system. The spatial extent of the identified generators, together with consistent phase-lags, suggests that these rhythms can be viewed as being spatially continuous with complex dynamics including traveling waves. Our findings illustrate the level of spatial detail attainable with source-projected ECoG and motivates wider use of the methodology for studying resting-state as well as event-related cortical dynamics in macaque and human.