Trends in Cognitive Sciences
ReviewFeature ReviewLarge-scale brain networks in cognition: emerging methods and principles
Section snippets
Large-scale brain networks and cognition
Much of our current knowledge of cognitive brain function has come from the modular paradigm, in which brain areas are postulated to act as independent processors for specific complex cognitive functions 1, 2. Accumulating evidence suggests that this paradigm has serious limitations and might in fact be misleading [3]. Even the functions of primary sensory areas of the cerebral cortex, once thought to be pinnacles of modularity, are being redefined by recent evidence of cross-modal interactions
Large-scale structural brain networks
The neuroanatomical structure of large-scale brain networks provides a skeleton of connected brain areas that facilitates signaling along preferred pathways in the service of specific cognitive functions. It is important to identify the brain areas that constitute structural network nodes and the connecting pathways that serve as structural network edges to know which configurations of interacting areas are possible. In the past, large-scale structural brain networks were often schematized by
Large-scale functional brain networks
The primate brain has evolved to provide survival value to primate species by allowing individual species members to behave in ways that accommodate a wide variety of environmental contingencies, performing different behaviors under different sets of conditions. At each moment, a specific set of conditions must be analyzed by the perceptual apparatus of the brain and sets of percepts must be combined with learned concepts to create a ‘solution’ to the immediate problem of understanding the
Conclusions and future directions
We have reviewed emerging methods for the identification and characterization of large-scale structural and functional brain networks, and have suggested new concepts in cognitive brain theory from the perspective of large-scale networks. Although critical open questions remain (Box 3), the large-scale brain network framework described here offers a principled and systematic approach to the study of cognitive function and dysfunction 154, 155.
Continued progress in understanding of cognitive
Acknowledgments
This article expands on the theme of a conference on the large-scale brain networks of cognition that was held at UC Berkeley in 2007 with funding from the National Science Foundation. The conference honored our former mentor Professor Walter J. Freeman on the occasion of his 80th birthday and examined current knowledge of large-scale brain network function from a multidisciplinary perspective. We thank the reviewers for their helpful suggestions and feedback, which significantly improved this
Glossary
- Blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signal
- measure of metabolic activity in the brain based on the difference between oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin levels arising from changes in local blood flow.
- Central-executive network (CEN)
- brain network responsible for high-level cognitive functions, notably the control of attention and working memory.
- Default-mode network (DMN)
- large-scale network of brain areas that form an integrated system for self-related cognitive activity, including
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