Functional connectivity and oscillatory neuronal activity in the human brain

Perception, cognition and behaviour are achieved through the coordination of multiple brain regions, which exchange information between each other. Despite enormous recent progress, our understanding of the dynamic long−range neuronal communication between distant regions in the brain is still very limited. In this project we will develop a methodology for imaging brain networks using electroencephalography, which provides a direct measure of electrophysiological activity in the brain, and we will then use this methodology to study dynamic interactions between different brain areas using graph theoretical measures. Finally, we will examine large−scale interactions at different spatio−temporal scales, relating slow activity fluctuations measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging with fast oscillations in electroencephalography signals. The primary benefit of the project will be to provide a theoretical account of long−range neuronal communication. This may shed new light on the neuronal mechanisms underlying our cognitive flexibility.