Dynamic community detection reveals transient reorganization of functional brain networks across a female menstrual cycle

Abstract

Sex steroid hormones have been shown to alter regional brain activity, but the extent to which they modulate connectivity within and between large-scale functional brain networks over time has yet to be characterized. Here, we applied dynamic community detection techniques to data from a highly sampled female with 30 consecutive days of brain imaging and venipuncture measurements to characterize changes in resting-state community structure across the menstrual cycle. Four stable functional communities were identified, consisting of nodes from visual, default mode, frontal control, and somatomotor networks. Limbic, subcortical, and attention networks exhibited higher than expected levels of nodal flexibility, a hallmark of between-network integration and transient functional reorganization. The most striking reorganization occurred in a default mode subnetwork localized to regions of the prefrontal cortex, coincident with peaks in serum levels of estradiol, luteinizing hormone, and follicle stimulating hormone. Nodes from these regions exhibited strong intranetwork increases in functional connectivity, leading to a split in the stable default mode core community and the transient formation of a new functional community. Probing the spatiotemporal basis of human brain–hormone interactions with dynamic community detection suggests that hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle result in temporary, localized patterns of brain network reorganization.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2021
Source ID
10.1162/netn_a_00169

Entities

People

  • Caitlin M. Taylor
  • Emily Goard Jacobs
  • Jean M. Carlson
  • Joshua M Mueller
  • Laura Pritschet
  • Scott T. Grafton
  • Tyler Santander

Organizations

  • Brain & Behavior Research Foundation
  • California NanoSystems Institute
  • David and Lucile Packard Foundation
  • National Institute on Aging
  • The Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies
  • University of California
  • University of California, Santa Barbara

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Biology

Readers

  • Computer Networking
  • Neuroscience
  • Women's Health and Cancer Risk Research: African American Women and Pregnancy Outcomes.