“Using a rich incentive like a film, we can very effectively drive to many regions of the cortex will be active for processing various characteristics of the film, and high-level areas will be active for extracting semantic and contextual information,” says Reza Rajimehr, Research Scientist In the McGovern Institute and the leading author of paper at work. “By activating the brain in this way, we can now distinguish between different areas or different networks based on their activation forms.”
Using the data of the FMRI with a high resolution collected by the NIH-funded consortium, the researchers analyzed the brain of 176 people while watching different movie clips. Then they used machine learning algorithm for the analysis of the forms of the activities of each Mozgene region. What they have found there were 24 networks with different activities and functions. Some are found in sensory areas such as a visual or hearing cortex, while others respond to features such as actions, languages or social interactions. Researchers also identified networks that have not previously seen, including one in the prefrontal cortex that seems to be very correspond to visual scenes. This network was most active in response to pictures of scenes within the film framework.
Three of the networks that have found are included in “Executive Control” and were most active during the transition between the clips. The researchers also noticed that when networks specific to a particular feature are very active, the executive control network were generally quiet and vice versa.
“Whenever activation in the area-specific areas, there is no need for the engagement of these high-level networks,” says Rajimehr. “But in situations where there may be some ambiguity and complexity in incentives, and there is a need to involve executive control networks, then we see that these networks become very active.”
Researchers hope their new card will serve as a starting point for more precise studying what every one of these networks is doing. For example, within the social processing network, the regions that are specific to processing social information about persons and bodies have been determined.
“This is a new approach that reveals something different from conventional approaches to neuroiming,” says Desimona. “They won’t give us all the answers, but it generates a lot of interesting ideas.”
