Node-reconfiguring multilayer networks of human brain function

Functional brain network properties are heavily influenced by how the the network nodes are defined. A common approach uses Regions of Interest (ROIs), i.e., predetermined collections of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) measurement voxels, as nodes. Their definition is always a compromise, as static ROIs cannot capture the dynamics and temporal reconfigurations of the brain areas. Consequently, the ROIs do not align with the functionally homogeneous regions, which can explain the low functional homogeneity values observed for the ROIs. This is in violation of the underlying homogeneity assumption in functional brain network analysis pipelines, which can cause serious problems such as spurious network structure. We introduce the node-reconfiguring multilayer network model, where nodes represent ROIs with boundaries optimized for high functional homogeneity in each time window. In this representation, network layers correspond to time windows, intralayer links depict functional connectivity between ROIs, and interlayer links quantify the overlap between ROIs on different layers. The ROI optimization approach increases functional homogeneity notably, yielding an over 10-fold increase in the fraction of ROIs with high homogeneity compared to static ROIs from the Brainnetome atlas. The optimized ROIs reorganize non-trivially at short time scales of consecutive time windows and across several windows. The amount of reorganization across time windows is connected to intralayer hubness: ROIs with intermediate levels of reorganization have stronger intralayer links than extremely stable or unstable ROIs. Our results demonstrate that reconfiguring parcellations yield more accurate network models of brain function. This supports the ongoing paradigm shift towards the chronnectome that sees the brain as a set of sources with continuously reconfiguring spatial and connectivity profiles.