Structure-function coupling in the human connectome: A machine learning approach.

While the function of most biological systems is tightly constrained by their structure, current evidence suggests that coupling between the structure and function of brain networks is relatively modest. We aimed to investigate whether the modest coupling between connectome structure and function is a fundamental property of nervous systems or a limitation of current brain network models. We developed a new deep learning framework to predict an individual's brain function from their structural connectome, achieving prediction accuracies that substantially exceeded state-of-the-art biophysical models (group: R=0.9±0.1, individual: R=0.55±0.1). Crucially, brain function predicted from an individual's structural connectome explained significant inter-individual variation in cognitive performance. Our results suggest that structure-function coupling in human brain networks is substantially tighter than previously suggested. We establish the margin by which current brain network models can be improved and demonstrate how deep learning can facilitate investigation of relations between brain function and behavior.

Evaluation of volume-based and surface-based brain image registration methods.

Establishing correspondences across brains for the purposes of comparison and group analysis is almost universally done by registering images to one another either directly or via a template. However, there are many registration algorithms to choose from. A recent evaluation of fully automated nonlinear deformation methods applied to brain image registration was restricted to volume-based methods. The present study is the first that directly compares some of the most accurate of these volume registration methods with surface registration methods, as well as the first study to compare registrations of whole-head and brain-only (de-skulled) images. We used permutation tests to compare the overlap or Hausdorff distance performance for more than 16,000 registrations between 80 manually labeled brain images. We compared every combination of volume-based and surface-based labels, registration, and evaluation. Our primary findings are the following: 1. de-skulling aids volume registration methods; 2. custom-made optimal average templates improve registration over direct pairwise registration; and 3. resampling volume labels on surfaces or converting surface labels to volumes introduces distortions that preclude a fair comparison between the highest ranking volume and surface registration methods using present resampling methods. From the results of this study, we recommend constructing a custom template from a limited sample drawn from the same or a similar representative population, using the same algorithm used for registering brains to the template.

The diverse club.

A complex system can be represented and analyzed as a network, where nodes represent the units of the network and edges represent connections between those units. For example, a brain network represents neurons as nodes and axons between neurons as edges. In many networks, some nodes have a disproportionately high number of edges as well as many edges between each other and are referred to as the "rich club". In many different networks, the nodes of this club are assumed to support global network integration. Here we show that another set of nodes, which have edges diversely distributed across the network, form a "diverse club". The diverse club exhibits, to a greater extent than the rich club, properties consistent with an integrative network function-these nodes are more highly interconnected and their edges are more critical for efficient global integration. Finally, these two clubs potentially evolved via distinct selection pressures.