TITLE:
Investigating connectional characteristics of Motor Cortex network
AUTHORS:
Dong-Mei Hao, Ming-Ai Li
KEYWORDS:
Motor Cortex Network, Connectivity, Correlation Coefficient, Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), Activation Area
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Biomedical Science and Engineering,
Vol.2 No.1,
February
13,
2009
ABSTRACT: To understand the connectivity of cerebral cor-tex, especially the spatial and temporal pattern of movement, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during subjects performing finger key presses was used to extract functional networks and then investigated their character-istics. Motor cortex networks were constructed with activation areas obtained with statistical analysis as vertexes and correlation coefficients of fMRI time series as linking strength. The equivalent non-motor cortex networks were constructed with certain distance rules. The graphic and dynamical measures of motor cor-tex networks and non-motor cortex networks were calculated, which shows the motor cortex networks are more compact, having higher sta-tistical independence and integration than the non-motor cortex networks. It indicates the motor cortex networks are more appropriate for information diffusion.