Active or at Rest, Brain Conducts Similar Symphonies
Timing is everything, even when it comes to brain activity. Individual neurons fire all the time, but it’s the synchronous firing of many cells in many regions that seems to drive cognitive skills, such as language, decision-making and even consciousness.
This so-called ‘functional connectivity’ reveals which brain regions are most harmonious — ramping up or down at the same time — implying that they're part of the same functional network. It’s a hot topic in autism research, with some studies suggesting that brain regions in people with the disorder are out of sync with each other.
Researchers generally measure functional connectivity by scanning volunteers' brains either while they're resting passively or while they're engaged in a specific task. According to some studies, these two approaches activate distinct networks, because the brain uses one mode of connections for active tasks and switches into another mode for quiet reflection.
A study published 2 July in Neuron questions this premise. It argues that these two networks are more similar than previously thought.
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