Dynamic functional connectivity profile of the salience network across the life span

• Published in: Human brain mapping 2021-10, Vol.42 (14), p.4740-4749
• Main Authors: Snyder, William, Uddin, Lucina Q., Nomi, Jason S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Age; Age Factors; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aging; Aging - physiology; Algorithms; Attention - physiology; Brain; brain development; brain dynamics; Child; Clustering; Cognition; Connectome; Cortex (cingulate); Cortex (insular); Dwell time; Female; flexibility; Gyrus Cinguli - diagnostic imaging; Gyrus Cinguli - physiology; Human Development - physiology; Humans; insular cortex; Insular Cortex - diagnostic imaging; Insular Cortex - physiology; Life span; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; metastability; midcingulo‐insular network; Middle Aged; Nerve Net - diagnostic imaging; Nerve Net - physiology; Network switching; Neural networks; Noise; Salience; Trends; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1065-9471; 1097-0193
• DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25581

The insular cortex and anterior cingulate cortex together comprise the salience or midcingulo‐insular network, involved in detecting salient events and initiating control signals to mediate brain network dynamics. The extent to which functional coupling between the salience network and the rest of the brain undergoes changes due to development and aging is at present largely unexplored. Here, we examine dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) of the salience network in a large life span sample (n = 601; 6–85 years old). A sliding‐window analysis and k‐means clustering revealed five states of dFC formed with the salience network, characterized by either widespread asynchrony or different patterns of synchrony between the salience network and other brain regions. We determined the frequency, dwell time, total transitions, and specific state‐to‐state transitions for each state and subject, regressing the metrics with subjects' age to identify life span trends. A dynamic state characterized by low connectivity between the salience network and the rest of the brain had a strong positive quadratic relationship between age and both frequency and dwell time. Additional frequency, dwell time, total transitions, and state‐to‐state transition trends were observed with other salience network states. Our results highlight the metastable dynamics of the salience network and its role in the maturation of brain regions critical for cognition. Here, we examine dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) of the salience network in a large life span sample (n = 601). A sliding‐window analysis and k‐means clustering revealed five states of dFC formed with the salience network, characterized by either widespread asynchrony or different patterns of synchrony between the salience network and other brain regions. Life span trends in the frequency, dwell time, and transitions of these states highlight the role of metastability maturation in cognitively important brain regions.