Topic
Functional connectivity research, explained
11 open-access functional connectivity studies, each with a flashcard deck and a quiz.
- How is brain network organization different in autism?
Autism is characterized by a less organized brain network with weaker internal connections within functional networks and a failure to develop typical structural efficiency over time.
- How brain wave power relates to dynamic fMRI connections
Fluctuations in brain connectivity measured by fMRI are directly linked to changing patterns of electrical brain waves, with fast waves boosting connection strength and slow waves suppressing it.
- Do psychedelics make brain networks talk to each other more?
Psilocybin made many normally separate brain networks fluctuate together more, whereas MDMA, with similarly intense subjective effects, changed almost none of these links.
- How does premotor cortex prepare the hand for different grips?
A pulse to ventral premotor cortex just before a pulse to motor cortex selectively boosted the hand muscle that the person was about to use, depending on whether they were preparing a pinch or a whole-hand grasp.
- How does brain connectivity differ in Down Syndrome?
People with Down Syndrome have overly synchronized, less specialized brain networks that do not coordinate well when processing external stimuli.
- Is the autistic brain more connected locally, as theory predicts?
Autistic adolescents did not show a general increase in local brain connectivity; instead, visual and right frontal areas were more locally connected and default-mode areas less so.
- Which arcuate fasciculus segments matter for aphasia?
In 33 chronic left-stroke aphasia cases, left AF long/anterior/posterior segments predicted naming, fluency, and comprehension beyond cortex; right AF role was unclear.
- Which brain networks misfire in visual snow?
In 24 VSS patients vs 24 controls, seed-based fMRI showed widespread hyper/hypoconnectivity across visual, attentional, and salience systems at rest and during visual input.
- Which brain circuits control the bladder?
This review maps bladder-control regions/networks and notes only six micturition-phase imaging studies, with LPFC/pons most often activated while voiding.
- Can BOLD go up when the brain uses less oxygen?
In 40 healthy adults, about 40% of voxels with significant BOLD changes—especially in default-mode network—showed oxygen metabolism moving the opposite way.
- Can brain wiring predict who benefits from TMS under stress?
Frontal magnetic stimulation did not lower the stress-hormone response on average, but women whose left prefrontal cortex was more strongly anti-coupled with the caudal anterior cingulate at rest showed a smaller cortisol rise after real stimulation.