Functional connectivity is widely used to study the coordination of activity between brain regions over time. Functional connectivity in the default mode and task positive networks is particularly important for normal brain function. However, the processes that give rise to functional connectivity in the brain are not fully understood. It has been postulated that low-frequency neural activity plays a key role in establishing the functional architecture of the brain. Quasi-periodic patterns (QPPs) are a reliably observable form of low-frequency neural activity that involve the default mode and task positive networks. Here, QPPs from resting-state and working memory task-performing individuals were acquired. The spatial pattern and the temporal frequency of the QPPs between the two groups was compared and their contribution to functional connectivity in the brain was measured. In taskperforming individuals, the spatial pattern of the QPP changes, particularly in task-relevant regions; and the QPP tends to occur with greater strength and frequency. Differences in the QPPs between the two groups could partially account for the variance in functional connectivity between resting-state and taskperforming individuals. The QPPs contribute strongly to connectivity in the default mode and task positive networks and to the degree of anti-correlation seen between the two networks. Many of the connections affected by QPPs are also disrupted during several neurological disorders. These findings help towards understanding the dynamic neural processes that give rise to functional connectivity in the brain and how they may be disrupted during disease.Keywords functional connectivity • resting state • task • quasi-periodic patterns • default mode network • task positive network 2 . CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license It is made available under a (which was not peer-reviewed) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.The copyright holder for this preprint . http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/323162 doi: bioRxiv preprint first posted online May. 16, 2018;
-IntroductionFunctional connectivity is a defining feature of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI). Correlation of the blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) signal fluctuations across brain regions is assumed to indicate coordinated activity between those regions (Biswal et al. 1995). Based on this assumption, maps of functional networks have been created from rs-fMRI data using multiple techniques (Park & Friston 2013;Power et al. 2011;Smith et al. 2013). The resulting functional networks agree closely with prevailing understandings of the functional organization of the brain (Asemi et al. 2015;Heuvel & Hulshoff Pol 2010;Vincent et al. 2008; Zhang et al. 2008). Consequently, functional connectivity has proven to be a useful tool in studying the brain, particularly when brain organization is disrupted during neurological disorders (Gillebert & Mantini 2013; for reviews, see Mohan et al. 2016;Pievan...