Functional connectivity in the brain
Functional connectivity is a measure of how regions of the brain interact with each other. Brain activation can be mapped non-invasively with functional MRI (fMRI).There are various scales at which one can measure functional connectivity. For example seeded connectivity analysis examines correlations in functional MRI signal between pre-defined regions of interest. This can be extended to the whole brain by examining correlations between all possible pairs of regions throughout the brain. An alternative approach is regional homogeneity analysis, which determines local connectivity (correlations between a voxel and its immediate neighbours). We are also actively developing new methods that can improve the spatial and temporal resolution of functional connectivity measurements.
Aim
- Investigate changes in functional connectivity of the brain associated with epilepsy.
- Develop new methods to improve spatial and temporal resolution of functional connectivity measurements.
We have made some important discoveries. For example, we have found that there are common brain areas with abnormal local connectivity in patients with focal epilepsy, despite lesion location varying across individuals. We have also discovered that in some cases a single very small brain lesion can cause widespread change in functional connectivity throughout the brain.
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If you’re interested in learning more about this project please contact our team.