Conscientiousness associated with efficiency of the salience/ventral attention network: Replication in three samples using individualized parcellation.

Conscientiousness, and related constructs impulsivity and self-control, have been related to structural and functional properties of regions in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and anterior insula. Network-based conceptions of brain function suggest that these regions belong to a single large-scale network, labeled the salience/ventral attention network (SVAN). The current study tested associations between conscientiousness and resting-state functional connectivity in this network using two community samples (N's = 244 and 239) and data from the Human Connectome Project (N = 1000). Individualized parcellation was used to improve functional localization accuracy and facilitate replication. Functional connectivity was measured using an index of network efficiency, a graph theoretical measure quantifying the capacity for parallel information transfer within a network. Efficiency of a set of parcels in the SVAN was significantly associated with conscientiousness in all samples. Findings are consistent with a theory of conscientiousness as a function of variation in neural networks underlying effective prioritization of goals.

Neuroanatomy of creative achievement.

Very few studies have investigated neuroanatomical correlates of "everyday" creative achievement in cohorts of normal subjects. In previous research, we first showed that scores on the Creative Achievement Questionnaire (CAQ) were associated with lower cortical thickness within the left lateral orbitofrontal gyrus (LOFG), and increased thickness of the right angular gyrus (AG) (Jung et al., 2010). Newer studies found the CAQ to be associated with decreased volume of the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and that artistic and scientific creativity was associated with increased and decreased volumes within the executive control network and salience network (Shi et al., 2017). We desired to replicate and extend our previous study in a larger cohort (N â€‹= â€‹248), comprised of subjects studying and working in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Subjects were young (Range â€‹= â€‹16-32; Mean age â€‹= â€‹21.8; s.d. â€‹= â€‹3.5) all of whom were administered the CAQ, from which we derived artistic and scientific creativity factors. All subjects underwent structural MRI on a 3 â€‹T scanner from which cortical thickness, area, and volume measures were obtained using FreeSurfer. Our results showed mostly cortical thinning in relation to total, scientific, and artistic creative achievement encompassing many regions involved in the cognitive control network (CCN) and default mode network (DMN).

White matter correlates of creative cognition in a normal cohort.

Creative cognition, as measured through divergent thinking (DT), offers insight into one's ability to generate novel ideas. Relatively little work has been done exploring the relationship between creative idea generation tasks and white matter integrity via fractional anisotropy (FA). Our previous work has shown that higher scores on DT tasks were related to reduced fractional anisotropy (FA) within the left hemisphere anterior thalamic radiation (Jung et al., 2010). However, Takeuchi et al., 2010, found positive correlations with FA and DT tasks in the prefrontal cortex and genu of the corpus callosum. The present study assessed subjects studying or working in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM; N â€‹= â€‹178) for correlations in white matter FA, as related to a measure of DT. Healthy normal subjects aged (16-32 years, mean age â€‹= â€‹22.0 â€‹± â€‹3.8; F â€‹= â€‹89/178). Three idea generation DT measures were scored by three raters (α â€‹= â€‹0.71) using the consensual assessment technique, from which a composite creativity index (CCI) was derived. We found that CCI was inversely related to FA (all p â€‹< â€‹0.05, controlling for age, sex, and full scale intelligence, and corrected for multiple comparisons using family wise error), within the left hemisphere inferior frontal gyrus, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, cingulate gyrus, inferior longitudinal fasciculus, and right hemisphere uncinate fasciculus. These results are consistent with our previous findings, implicating lower FA in white matter regions linking broad cortical networks, now established in a much larger sample of normal healthy subjects.

Resting state functional connectivity underlying musical creativity.

While the behavior of "being musically creative"- improvising, composing, songwriting, etc.-is undoubtedly a complex and highly variable one, recent neuroscientific investigation has offered significant insight into the neural underpinnings of many of the creative processes contributing to such behavior. A previous study from our research group (Bashwiner et al., 2016), which examined two aspects of brain structure as a function of creative musical experience, found significantly increased cortical surface area or subcortical volume in regions of the default-mode network, a motor planning network, and a "limbic" network. The present study sought to determine how these regions coordinate with one another and with other regions of the brain in a large number of participants (n â€‹= â€‹218) during a task-neutral period, i.e., during the "resting state." Deriving from the previous study's results a set of eleven regions of interest (ROIs), the present study analyzed the resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) from each of these seed regions as a function of creative musical experience (assessed via our Musical Creativity Questionnaire). Of the eleven ROIs investigated, nine showed significant correlations with a total of 22 clusters throughout the brain, the most significant being located in bilateral cerebellum, right inferior frontal gyrus, midline thalamus (particularly the mediodorsal nucleus), and medial premotor regions. These results support prior reports (by ourselves and others) implicating regions of the default-mode, executive, and motor-planning networks in musical creativity, while additionally-and somewhat unanticipatedly-including a potentially much larger role for the salience network than has been previously reported in studies of musical creativity.

Differences in brain morphometry associated with creative performance in high- and average-creative achievers.

Nearly everyone has the ability for creative thought. Yet, certain individuals create works that propel their fields, challenge paradigms, and advance the world. What are the neurobiological factors that might underlie such prominent creative achievement? In this study, we focus on morphometric differences in brain structure between high creative achievers from diverse fields of expertise and a 'smart' comparison group of age-, intelligence-, and education-matched average creative achievers. Participants underwent a high-resolution structural brain imaging scan and completed a series of intelligence, creative thinking, personality, and creative achievement measures. We examined whether high and average creative achievers could be distinguished based on the relationship between morphometric brain measures (cortical area and thickness) and behavioral measures. Although participants' performance on the behavioral measures did not differ between the two groups aside from creative achievement, the relationship between posterior parietal cortex morphometry and creativity, intelligence, and personality measures depended on group membership. These results suggest that extraordinary creativity may be associated with measurable structural brain differences, especially within parietal cortex.

Differences in brain activity patterns during creative idea generation between eminent and non-eminent thinkers.

An influential model of the neural mechanisms of creative thought suggests that creativity is manifested in the joint contributions of the Default Mode Network (DMN; a set of regions in the medial PFC, lateral and medial parietal cortex, and the medial temporal lobes) and the executive networks within the dorsolateral PFC. Several empirical reports have offered support for this model by showing that complex interactions between these brain systems account for individual differences in creative performance. The present study examined whether the engagement of these regions in idea generation is modulated by one's eminence in a creativity-related field. Twenty (n â€‹= â€‹20) healthy eminent creators from diverse fields of expertise and a 'smart' comparison group of sixteen (n â€‹= â€‹16) age- and education-matched non-eminent thinkers were administered a creative generation task (an adaptation of the Alternative Uses Task) and a control perceptual task, while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The participants' verbal responses were recorded through a noise-canceling microphone and were later coded for fluency and accuracy. Behavioral and fMRI analyses revealed commonalities between groups, but also distinct patterns of activation in default mode and executive brain regions between the eminent and the non-eminent participants during creative thinking. We interpret these findings in the context of the well-documented contributions of these regions in the generation of creative ideas as modulated, in this study, by participants' creative eminence.

Hemispheric asymmetries in cortical gray matter microstructure identified by neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging.

Histological studies have reported microstructural hemispheric asymmetries in several cortical areas of the human brain, but reliable in vivo assessment methods have been lacking so far. Here, we used neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) to examine microstructural asymmetries in in vivo and determine if findings are in accordance with what has been reported in histological studies. We examined intra-neurite volume fraction (INVF), neurite orientation dispersion (ODI), and isotropic volume fraction (ISO) asymmetries in two independent samples of healthy adults (n = 269 and n = 251). Over both samples, we found greater left-hemispheric INVF in early auditory, inferior parietal and temporal-parietal-occipital areas. In contrast, we found greater right-hemispheric INVF in the fusiform and inferior temporal gyrus, reflecting what has been reported in histological studies. ODI was asymmetric towards the left hemisphere in frontal areas and towards the right hemisphere in early auditory areas. ISO showed less pronounced asymmetries. There were hardly any effects of sex or handedness on microstructural asymmetry as determined by NODDI. Taken together, these findings suggest substantial microstructural asymmetries in gray matter, making NODDI a promising marker for future genetic and behavioral studies on laterality.

Structural correlates of Openness and Intellect: Implications for the contribution of personality to creativity.

Openness/Intellect (i.e., openness to experience) is the Big Five personality factor most consistently associated with individual differences in creativity. Recent psychometric evidence has demonstrated that this factor consists of two distinct aspects-Intellect and Openness. Whereas Intellect reflects perceived intelligence and intellectual engagement, Openness reflects engagement with fantasy, perception, and aesthetics. We investigated the extent to which Openness and Intellect are associated with variations in brain structure as measured by cortical thickness, area, and volume (N = 185). Our results demonstrated that Openness was correlated inversely with cortical thickness and volume in left middle frontal gyrus (BA 6), middle temporal gyrus (MTG, BA 21), and superior temporal gyrus (BA 41), and exclusively with cortical thickness in left inferior parietal lobule (BA 40), right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG, BA 45), and MTG (BA 37). When age and sex were statistically controlled for, the inverse correlations between Openness and cortical thickness remained statistically significant for all regions except left MTG, whereas the correlations involving cortical volume remained statistically significant only for left middle frontal gyrus. There was no statistically significant correlation between Openness and cortical area, and no statistically significant correlation between Intellect and cortical thickness, area, or volume. Our results demonstrate that individual differences in Openness are correlated with variation in brain structure-particularly as indexed by cortical thickness. Given the involvement of the above regions in processes related to memory and cognitive control, we discuss the implications of our findings for the possible contribution of personality to creative cognition.

Bayesian network-response regression.

MOTIVATION: There is increasing interest in learning how human brain networks vary as a function of a continuous trait, but flexible and efficient procedures to accomplish this goal are limited. We develop a Bayesian semiparametric model, which combines low-rank factorizations and flexible Gaussian process priors to learn changes in the conditional expectation of a network-valued random variable across the values of a continuous predictor, while including subject-specific random effects. RESULTS: The formulation leads to a general framework for inference on changes in brain network structures across human traits, facilitating borrowing of information and coherently characterizing uncertainty. We provide an efficient Gibbs sampler for posterior computation along with simple procedures for inference, prediction and goodness-of-fit assessments. The model is applied to learn how human brain networks vary across individuals with different intelligence scores. Results provide interesting insights on the association between intelligence and brain connectivity, while demonstrating good predictive performance. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: Source code implemented in R and data are available at https://github.com/wangronglu/BNRR. CONTACT: rl.wang@duke.edu. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Correlation of neurocognitive function and brain lesion load on magnetic resonance imaging in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Neurocognitive dysfunction and brain injury on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are common in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. However, brain MRI is expensive, is restricted by payers, and requires high expertise. Neurocognitive assessment is an easily available, safe, and inexpensive clinical tool that may select patients needing brain MRI. In this cross-sectional and controlled study, 76 SLE patients (69 women, age 37 ± 12 years) and 26 age and gender-matched healthy subjects (22 women, age 34 ± 11 years) underwent assessment of attention, memory, processing speed, executive function, motor function, and global neurocognitive function. All subjects underwent brain MRI with T1-weighted, fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR), and diffusion-weighted imaging. Hemispheric and whole brain lesion load in cm3 were determined using semi-automated methods. Neurocognitive z-scores in all clinical domains were significantly lower and whole brain and right and left hemispheres brain lesion load were significantly greater in patients than in controls (all p ≤ 0.02). There was significant correlation between neurocognitive z-scores in all domains and whole brain lesion load: processing speed (r = - 0.46; p < 0.0001), attention (r = - 0.42; p < 0.001), memory (r = - 0.40; p = 0.0004), executive function (r = - 0.25; p = 0.03), motor function (r = - 0.25; p = 0.05), and global neurocognitive function (r = - 0.38; p = 0.006). Similar correlations were found for brain hemisphere lesion loads (all p ≤ 0.05). These correlations were strengthened when adjusted for glucocorticoid therapy and SLE disease activity index. Finally, global neurocognitive z-score and erythrosedimentation rate were the only independent predictors of whole brain lesion load (both p ≤ 0.007). Neurocognitive measures and brain lesion load are worse in SLE patients than in controls. In SLE patients, neurocognitive z-scores correlate negatively with and independently predict brain lesion load. Therefore, neurocognitive testing may be an effective clinical tool to select patients needing brain MRI.

Personality and complex brain networks: The role of openness to experience in default network efficiency.

The brain's default network (DN) has been a topic of considerable empirical interest. In fMRI research, DN activity is associated with spontaneous and self-generated cognition, such as mind-wandering, episodic memory retrieval, future thinking, mental simulation, theory of mind reasoning, and creative cognition. Despite large literatures on developmental and disease-related influences on the DN, surprisingly little is known about the factors that impact normal variation in DN functioning. Using structural equation modeling and graph theoretical analysis of resting-state fMRI data, we provide evidence that Openness to Experience-a normally distributed personality trait reflecting a tendency to engage in imaginative, creative, and abstract cognitive processes-underlies efficiency of information processing within the DN. Across two studies, Openness predicted the global efficiency of a functional network comprised of DN nodes and corresponding edges. In Study 2, Openness remained a robust predictor-even after controlling for intelligence, age, gender, and other personality variables-explaining 18% of the variance in DN functioning. These findings point to a biological basis of Openness to Experience, and suggest that normally distributed personality traits affect the intrinsic architecture of large-scale brain systems. Hum Brain Mapp 37:773-779, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Fronto-Parietal gray matter and white matter efficiency differentially predict intelligence in males and females.

While there are minimal sex differences in overall intelligence, males, on average, have larger total brain volume and corresponding regional brain volumes compared to females, measures that are consistently related to intelligence. Limited research has examined which other brain characteristics may differentially contribute to intelligence in females to facilitate equal performance on intelligence measures. Recent reports of sex differences in the neural characteristics of the brain further highlight the need to differentiate how the structural neural characteristics relate to intellectual ability in males and females. The current study utilized a graph network approach in conjunction with structural equation modeling to examine potential sex differences in the relationship between white matter efficiency, fronto-parietal gray matter volume, and general cognitive ability (GCA). Participants were healthy adults (n = 244) who completed a battery of cognitive testing and underwent structural neuroimaging. Results indicated that in males, a latent factor of fronto-parietal gray matter was significantly related to GCA when controlling for total gray matter volume. In females, white matter efficiency and total gray matter volume were significantly related to GCA, with no specificity of the fronto-parietal gray matter factor over and above total gray matter volume. This work highlights that different neural characteristics across males and females may contribute to performance on intelligence measures. Hum Brain Mapp 37:4006-4016, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Graph Metrics of Structural Brain Networks in Individuals with Schizophrenia and Healthy Controls: Group Differences, Relationships with Intelligence, and Genetics.

OBJECTIVES: One of the most prominent features of schizophrenia is relatively lower general cognitive ability (GCA). An emerging approach to understanding the roots of variation in GCA relies on network properties of the brain. In this multi-center study, we determined global characteristics of brain networks using graph theory and related these to GCA in healthy controls and individuals with schizophrenia. METHODS: Participants (N=116 controls, 80 patients with schizophrenia) were recruited from four sites. GCA was represented by the first principal component of a large battery of neurocognitive tests. Graph metrics were derived from diffusion-weighted imaging. RESULTS: The global metrics of longer characteristic path length and reduced overall connectivity predicted lower GCA across groups, and group differences were noted for both variables. Measures of clustering, efficiency, and modularity did not differ across groups or predict GCA. Follow-up analyses investigated three topological types of connectivity--connections among high degree "rich club" nodes, "feeder" connections to these rich club nodes, and "local" connections not involving the rich club. Rich club and local connectivity predicted performance across groups. In a subsample (N=101 controls, 56 patients), a genetic measure reflecting mutation load, based on rare copy number deletions, was associated with longer characteristic path length. CONCLUSIONS: Results highlight the importance of characteristic path lengths and rich club connectivity for GCA and provide no evidence for group differences in the relationships between graph metrics and GCA.

Reliable activation to novel stimuli predicts higher fluid intelligence.

The ability to reliably respond to stimuli could be an important biological determinant of differences in fluid intelligence (Gf). However, most electrophysiological studies of Gf employ event-related potential (ERP) measures that average brain activity over trials, and hence have limited power to quantify neural variability. Time-frequency analyses can capture cross-trial variation in the phase of neural activity, and thus can help address the importance of neural reliability to differences in Gf. This study recruited a community sample of healthy adults and measured inter-trial phase clustering (ITPC), total spectral power, and ERP amplitudes elicited by Repeated and Novel non-target stimuli during two visual oddball tasks. Condition effects, relations among the EEG measures, and relations with Gf were assessed. Early visual responses to Repeated stimuli elicited higher ITPC, yet only ITPC elicited by Novel stimuli was associated with Gf. Analyses of spectral power further highlighted the contribution of phase consistency to the findings. The link between Gf and reliable responding to changing inputs suggests an important role for flexible resource allocation in fluid intellectual skills.

Connectivity-based whole brain dual parcellation by group ICA reveals tract structures and decreased connectivity in schizophrenia.

Mapping brain connectivity based on neuroimaging data is a promising new tool for understanding brain structure and function. In this methods paper, we demonstrate that group independent component analysis (GICA) can be used to perform a dual parcellation of the brain based on its connectivity matrix (cmICA). This dual parcellation consists of a set of spatially independent source maps, and a corresponding set of paired dual maps that define the connectivity of each source map to the brain. These dual maps are called the connectivity profiles of the source maps. Traditional analysis of connectivity matrices has been used previously for brain parcellation, but the present method provides additional information on the connectivity of these segmented regions. In this paper, the whole brain structural connectivity matrices were calculated on a 5 mm(3) voxel scale from diffusion imaging data based on the probabilistic tractography method. The effect of the choice of the number of components (30 and 100) and their stability were examined. This method generated a set of spatially independent components that are consistent with the canonical brain tracts provided by previous anatomic descriptions, with the high order model yielding finer segmentations. The corpus-callosum example shows how this method leads to a robust parcellation of a brain structure based on its connectivity properties. We applied cmICA to study structural connectivity differences between a group of schizophrenia subjects and healthy controls. The connectivity profiles at both model orders showed similar regions with reduced connectivity in schizophrenia patients. These regions included forceps major, right inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, uncinate fasciculus, thalamic radiation, and corticospinal tract. This paper provides a novel unsupervised data-driven framework that summarizes the information in a large global connectivity matrix and tests for brain connectivity differences. It has the potential for capturing important brain changes related to disease in connectivity-based disorders.

Subcortical intelligence: caudate volume predicts IQ in healthy adults.

This study examined the association between size of the caudate nuclei and intelligence. Based on the central role of the caudate in learning, as well as neuroimaging studies linking greater caudate volume to better attentional function, verbal ability, and dopamine receptor availability, we hypothesized the existence of a positive association between intelligence and caudate volume in three large independent samples of healthy adults (total N = 517). Regression of IQ onto bilateral caudate volume controlling for age, sex, and total brain volume indicated a significant positive correlation between caudate volume and intelligence, with a comparable magnitude of effect across each of the three samples. No other subcortical structures were independently associated with IQ, suggesting a specific biological link between caudate morphology and intelligence.

Functional brain networks contributing to the Parieto-Frontal Integration Theory of Intelligence.

The refinement of localization of intelligence in the human brain is converging onto a distributed network that broadly conforms to the Parieto-Frontal Integration Theory (P-FIT). While this theory has received support in the neuroimaging literature, no functional magnetic resonance imaging study to date has conducted a whole-brain network-wise examination of the changes during engagement in tasks that are reliable measures of general intelligence (e.g., Raven's Progressive Matrices Test; RPM). Seventy-nine healthy subjects were scanned while solving RPM problems and during rest. Functional networks were extracted from the RPM and resting state data using Independent Component Analysis. Twenty-nine networks were identified, 26 of which were detected in both conditions. Fourteen networks were significantly correlated with the RPM task. The networks' spatial maps and functional connectivity measures at 3 frequency levels (low, medium, & high) were compared between the RPM and rest conditions. The regions involved in the networks that were found to be task related were consistent with the P-FIT, localizing to the bilateral medial frontal and parietal regions, right superior frontal lobule, and the right cingulate gyrus. Functional connectivity in multiple component pairs was differentially affected across all frequency levels during the RPM task. Our findings demonstrate that functional brain networks are more stable than previously thought, and maintain their general features across resting state and engagement in a complex cognitive task. The described spatial and functional connectivity alterations that such components undergo during fluid reasoning provide a network-wise framework of the P-FIT that can be valuable for further, network based, neuroimaging inquiries regarding the neural underpinnings of intelligence.

Sex differences in the relationship between white matter connectivity and creativity.

Creative cognition emerges from a complex network of interacting brain regions. This study investigated the relationship between the structural organization of the human brain and aspects of creative cognition tapped by divergent thinking tasks. Diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) was used to obtain fiber tracts from 83 segmented cortical regions. This information was represented as a network and metrics of connectivity organization, including connectivity strength, clustering and communication efficiency were computed, and their relationship to individual levels of creativity was examined. Permutation testing identified significant sex differences in the relationship between global connectivity and creativity as measured by divergent thinking tests. Females demonstrated significant inverse relationships between global connectivity and creative cognition, whereas there were no significant relationships observed in males. Node specific analyses revealed inverse relationships across measures of connectivity, efficiency, clustering and creative cognition in widespread regions in females. Our findings suggest that females involve more regions of the brain in processing to produce novel ideas to solutions, perhaps at the expense of efficiency (greater path lengths). Males, in contrast, exhibited few, relatively weak positive relationships across these measures. Extending recent observations of sex differences in connectome structure, our findings of sexually dimorphic relationships suggest a unique topological organization of connectivity underlying the generation of novel ideas in males and females.

Reduced left executive control network functional connectivity is associated with alcohol use disorders.

BACKGROUND: Altered functional connectivity in critical networks has been associated with chronic alcohol abuse. In turn, changes in connectivity in executive control networks (ECNs) may undermine the ability to control alcohol consumption. It was hypothesized that network connectivity would be reduced in individuals with problematic alcohol use (ALC) compared with controls and that diminished network connectivity would be associated with greater failure to control drinking. METHODS: Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging was analyzed to identify 14 previously identified intrinsic connectivity networks (ICNs) using a priori regions of interest in cases ranging from binge drinkers to those with severe alcohol use disorder, as well as control subjects. Analyses tested for differences in network connectivity strength between 255 ALC cases and 87 age- and gender-matched controls. Further, structural equation analysis, using 383 ALC cases, tested whether functional connectivity strength mediated the relationship between years of regular drinking and alcohol problems. RESULTS: The age- and gender-matched analysis showed that ALC had significantly lower network connectivity strength than controls in the left executive control (LECN), basal ganglia, and primary visual networks. For all ALC, LECN connectivity strength is negatively correlated with failed control and alcohol disorder severity. Edges connecting parietal regions with dorsolateral prefrontal, middle frontal, and temporal regions within the LECN drove these relationships. A positive association between years of drinking and severity of alcohol problems was mediated by reduced ECN connectivity. CONCLUSIONS: This study reports relationships between network strength and problematic alcohol use, suggesting that chronic drinking negatively impacts brain connectivity, specifically in the LECN. Altered functional connectivity, related to chronic alcohol abuse, may contribute to the etiology of alcohol dependence and relapse.

Changes in intrinsic functional brain networks following blast-induced mild traumatic brain injury.

OBJECTIVE: Blast-induced mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI) commonly go undetected by computed tomography and conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This study was used to investigate functional brain network abnormalities in a group of blast-induced mTBI subjects using independent component analysis (ICA) of resting state functional MRI (fMRI) data. METHODS: Twenty-eight resting state networks of 13 veterans who sustained blast-induced mTBI were compared with healthy controls across three fMRI domains: blood oxygenation level-dependent spatial maps, time course spectra and functional connectivity. RESULTS: The mTBI group exhibited hyperactivity in the temporo-parietal junctions and hypoactivity in the left inferior temporal gyrus. Abnormal frequencies in default-mode (DMN), sensorimotor, attentional and frontal networks were detected. In addition, functional connectivity was disrupted in six network pairs: DMN-basal ganglia, attention-sensorimotor, frontal-DMN, attention-sensorimotor, attention-frontal and sensorimotor-sensorimotor. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest white matter disruption across certain attentional networks. Additionally, given their elevated activity relative to controls', the temporo-parietal junctions of blast mTBI subjects may be compensating for diffuse axonal injury in other cortical regions.