Dynamic functioning of transient resting-state coactivation networks in the Human Connectome Project

Resting-state analyses evaluating large-scale brain networks have largely focused on static correlations in brain activity over extended time periods, however emerging approaches capture time-varying or dynamic patterns of transient functional networks. In light of these new approaches, there is a need to classify common transient network states (TNS) in terms of their spatial and dynamic properties. To fill this gap, two independent resting state scans collected in 462 healthy adults from the Human Connectome Project were evaluated using coactivation pattern analysis to identify (eight) TNS that recurred across participants and over time. These TNS spatially overlapped with prototypical resting state networks, but also diverged in notable ways. In particular, analyses revealed three TNS that shared cortical midline overlap with the default mode network (DMN), but these complex DMN states also encompassed distinct regions that fall beyond the prototypical DMN, suggesting that the DMN defined using static methods may represent the average of distinct complex-DMN states. Of note, dwell time was higher in complex DMN states, challenging the idea that the prototypical DMN, as a single unit, is the dominant resting-state network as typically defined by static resting state methods. In comparing the two resting state scans, we also found high reliability in the spatial organization and dynamic activities of network states involving DMN or sensorimotor regions. Future work will determine whether these TNS defined by coactivation patterns are in other samples, and are linked to fundamental cognitive properties.