A morphospace of functional configuration to assess configural breadth based on brain functional networks

The best approach to quantify human brain functional reconfigurations in response to varying cognitive demands remains an unresolved topic in network neuroscience. We propose that such functional reconfigurations may be categorized into three different types: i) Network Configural Breadth, ii) Task-to-Task transitional reconfiguration, and iii) Within-Task reconfiguration. In order to quantify these reconfigurations, we propose a mesoscopic framework focused on functional networks (FNs) or communities. To do so, we introduce a 2D network morphospace that relies on two novel mesoscopic metrics, Trapping Efficiency (TE) and Exit Entropy (EE), which capture topology and integration of information within and between a reference set of FNs. In this study, we use this framework to quantify the Network Configural Breadth across different tasks. We show that the metrics defining this morphospace can differentiate FNs, cognitive tasks and subjects. We also show that network configural breadth significantly predicts behavioral measures, such as episodic memory, verbal episodic memory, fluid intelligence and general intelligence. In essence, we put forth a framework to explore the cognitive space in a comprehensive manner, for each individual separately, and at different levels of granularity. This tool that can also quantify the FN reconfigurations that result from the brain switching between mental states.