Brain clustering, particularly in the context of functional brain analysis as described, involves the process of grouping together individual brain regions based on their statistical dependence with one another.
Understanding Functional Brain Clusters
Within a functional brain cluster, regions that exhibit similar patterns of activity or connectivity are grouped together. The purpose is often to identify networks or groups of regions that work in concert during specific tasks or under certain conditions.
A key aspect of this approach, as highlighted in the provided reference, is the assessment of the importance or role of individual regions within the cluster.
- Regional Ranking: Individual brain regions within a functional cluster are not treated equally. They are ranked at the center or at the periphery according to their statistical dependence with the rest of that cluster. This ranking helps understand which regions are more central or influential within the functional group and which are less so.
Regions with higher statistical dependence to the overall cluster might be considered more central, while those with lower dependence might be more peripheral.
Practical Application
The method described has been tested to demonstrate its applicability.
- Tested Environment: The approach of functional clustering and regional ranking within clusters has been tested on PET data obtained from normal and schizophrenic subjects performing a set of cognitive tasks.
This shows that brain clustering techniques, including the analysis of regional roles within clusters, can be applied to real-world neuroimaging data to study brain function in health and disease during cognitive processes.
