Mental health explains individual deviations from normative range in cognition-associated brain states

Abstract

Links between cognitive deficits and psychiatric disorders have been studied predominantly at the group level, leaving unique individual characteristics largely unknown. Here, we applied normative modeling to UK Biobank data (N=18,634) and estimated the interplay of large-scale brain networks over time (i.e., dynamic brain state) at the individual level. Abnormality in such brain states was linked to individual variation in mental health. Specifically, brain state measures including fractional occupancy were estimated as a function of general cognitive ability and abnormality scores per participant were quantified to represent the degree of deviations relative to the estimated population norm. We found significant associations between the abnormality scores of several brain states and individuals overall mental health. Our findings suggest potential impact of mental health on dynamic brain states subserving cognitive functions and shed light on the relevant brain mechanisms underlying cognitive deficits in mental illness.

Long-term stress shapes dynamic reconfiguration of functional brain networks across multi-task demands

“…Another important result revealed that fractional occupancy and mean lifetime of a specific brain state at rest are correlated with psychological distress under long-term stress. This finding is consistent with previous studies showing that the fractional occupancy of brain states at rest can predict overall mental health (66) and mental disorders (42). Specifically, we found that fractional occupancy and mean lifetime of state 10 are negatively correlated with psychological distress under long-term stress, which is characterized by high activation of Visual networks, ECN, and ASN.…”