Static and dynamic functional connectivity of resting-state brain and spinal cord fMRI

Details

Supervisors

Lee, John Aldo ; Van De Ville, Dimitri

Faculty

Ecole polytechnique de Louvain

Degree label

Master [120] : ingénieur civil biomédical, à finalité spécialisée

Abstract

The spinal cord, an essential component of the Central Nervous System (CNS), has traditionally been overlooked in functional neuroimaging studies. Recent advances, however, underscore its active role in sensorimotor integration and neuroplasticity. The purpose of this study is to investigate resting-state blood oxygenation-level dependent (BOLD) fluctuations in the spinal cord and to identify resting-state networks (RSNs) across the CNS. Resting-state BOLD fMRI data were obtained from the entire brain and cervical spinal cord of 12 healthy participants, using a 1.5T MRI scanner. Data were processed differently according to anatomical differences, and physiological noise was removed. We applied static Joint Independent Component Analysis (Joint-ICA) to show resting-state networks (RSNs) spanning the CNS, and a dynamically-informed approach was used for separate datasets. To refine the investigation, we used Joint-ICA with specific masks for the Default Mode and Sensorimotor networks. Our findings show integrated networks involving cortical, subcortical, and spinal regions, emphasizing the interconnected coordination within the CNS. The custom Joint-ICA approach uncovered precisely localized spinal clusters within shared networks, alongside broader clusters within spinal-specific networks. Results also revealed segmentation of spinal levels with dorsal and ventral separation for half of them.