Resting-state brain and spinal cord networks in humans are functionally integrated

Vahdat, Shahabeddin and Khatibi, Ali and Lungu, Ovidiu and Finsterbusch, Jürgen and Büchel, Christian and Cohen-Adad, Julien and Marchand-Pauvert, Veronique and Doyon, Julien and Bullmore, Ed T. (2020) Resting-state brain and spinal cord networks in humans are functionally integrated. PLOS Biology, 18 (7). e3000789. ISSN 1545-7885

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Abstract

In the absence of any task, both the brain and spinal cord exhibit spontaneous intrinsic activity organised in a set of functionally relevant neural networks. However, whether such resting-state networks (RSNs) are interconnected across the brain and spinal cord is unclear. Here, we used a unique scanning protocol to acquire functional images of both brain and cervical spinal cord (CSC) simultaneously and examined their spatiotemporal correspondence in humans. We show that the brain and spinal cord activities are strongly correlated during rest periods, and specific spinal cord regions are functionally linked to consistently reported brain sensorimotor RSNs. The functional organisation of these networks follows well-established anatomical principles, including the contralateral correspondence between the spinal hemicords and brain hemispheres as well as sensory versus motor segregation of neural pathways along the brain–spinal cord axis. Thus, our findings reveal a unified functional organisation of sensorimotor networks in the entire central nervous system (CNS) at rest.

Item Type: Article
Subjects: ScienceOpen Library > Biological Science
Depositing User: Managing Editor
Date Deposited: 03 Jan 2023 09:50
Last Modified: 24 May 2024 06:16
URI: http://scholar.researcherseuropeans.com/id/eprint/43

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