A Data-Driven Method to Map the Functional Organisation of Human Brain White Matter
🤖 AI Summary
This study investigates how white matter pathways support functional synchronization between distant brain regions and their role in cognitive aging. To this end, we integrate diffusion MRI and functional MRI data to propose Track-DFC, a novel method that characterizes dynamic functional coupling between gray matter regions linked by white matter tracts. By combining independent component analysis with k-medoids clustering, we achieve the first data-driven parcellation of white matter pathways based on their functional organization. In an aging cohort from the Human Connectome Project, we find that multiple pathway clusters—associated with the control, default mode, attention, and visual systems—exhibit significant age-related declines in both the strength and temporal variability of functional coupling. Critically, these changes significantly mediate the adverse effects of aging on cognitive performance, highlighting the pivotal mediating role of specific white matter pathway clusters in brain aging.
Application Category
📝 Abstract
The white matter of the brain is organised into axonal bundles that support long-range neural communication. Although diffusion MRI (dMRI) enables detailed mapping of these pathways through tractography, how white matter pathways directly facilitate large-scale neural synchronisation remains poorly understood. We developed a data-driven framework that integrates dMRI and functional MRI (fMRI) to model the dynamic coupling supported by white matter tracks. Specifically, we employed track dynamic functional connectivity (Track-DFC) to characterise functional coupling of remote grey matter connected by individual white matter tracks. Using independent component analysis followed by k-medoids clustering, we derived functionally-coherent clusters of white matter tracks from the Human Connectome Project young adult cohort. When applied to the HCP ageing cohort, these clusters exhibited widespread age-related declines in both functional coupling strength and temporal variability. Importantly, specific clusters encompassing pathways linking control, default mode, attention, and visual systems significantly mediated the relationship between age and cognitive performance. Together, these findings depict the functional organisation of white matter tracks and provide a powerful tool to study brain ageing and cognitive decline.
Problem
Research questions and friction points this paper is trying to address.
white matter
functional connectivity
brain ageing
neural synchronisation
cognitive decline
Innovation
Methods, ideas, or system contributions that make the work stand out.
Track-DFC
white matter functional organization
multimodal neuroimaging
brain ageing
dynamic functional connectivity
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