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Resting state functional connectivity in health and disease

Guest Editors:
Xin Di: New Jersey Institute of Technology, US
Laura Martin: University of Kansas Medical Center, US
Yuan Zhou: Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China


BMC Neuroscience welcomed submissions to a new Collection, entitled Resting state functional connectivity in health and disease. This Collection aimed to showcase the latest research findings on the intricate network dynamics of the human brain during resting states, with the goal of deepening our understanding of functional connectivity and its implications in both healthy brain function and altered function due to neurological or psychiatric disorders.

Meet the Guest Editors

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Dr Xin Di: Department of Biomedical Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, US

Xin Di earned a PhD in Psychology from Sun Yat-Sen University in China in 2010. He currently serves as a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. His research endeavors are primarily centered around comprehending brain connectivity and network organizations by employing various neuroimaging techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and Positron Emission Tomography (PET). His focus primarily lies in examining how task demands influence brain connectivity and network organizations and how they are modified in mental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder. 
 

Dr Laura Martin: University of Kansas Medical Center, Department of Population Health, Hoglund Biomedical Imaging Center, US

Laura E Martin, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Population Health and Director of the Cognitive Neuroscience Unit at Hoglund Biomedical Imaging Center at the University of Kansas Medical Center. She received her PhD in Psychology with an emphasis in Cognitive Neuroscience from Rice University. Her research examines the connections between neural processing of reward and self-regulation with health behaviors including smoking, eating, and physical activity. Dr Martin’s research has been funded by NIH training fellowships and grants as well as the American Cancer Society. She is an advocate for team science and her research portfolio demonstrates this collaborative focus with research projects in a variety of clinical populations and research topics with the common theme of utilizing cognitive neuroscience methods. 
 

Dr Yuan Zhou: Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China

Yuan Zhou received her MS in Psychiatry and Mental health from Wuhan University in 2004 and her PhD in Pattern Recognition and Intelligence System from Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), in 2007. Since then, she has been working at the Institute of Psychology, CAS, where she was promoted to full professor in 2019. Her research focuses on neuroimaging and mental health, with a particular interest in resting-state brain functional networks and the neural basis of social cognition both in healthy participants (including twins) and patients with psychiatric disorders. Prof Zhou has published over 90 papers in prestigious international journals, such as NeuroImage, Cerebral Cortex, Human Brain Mapping, Schizophrenia Bulletin, and the Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science. 

About the collection

BMC Neuroscience welcomed submissions to a new Collection on resting state functional connectivity (RSFC). Traditionally, RSFC implied a static functional relationship between brain regions. However, extensive research has demonstrated that the brain exhibits fluctuating connectivity patterns during rest, leading to the identification of distinct "states." These dynamic states have proven to be associated with behavioral outcomes and mental disorders, providing valuable insights into the dynamic nature of brain function.

By exploring the intrinsic correlations between different brain regions during resting states, researchers have quantified fundamental aspects of brain organization and communication. Disruptions in RSFC have also been linked to various neurological and psychiatric conditions, highlighting its relevance in defining disease mechanisms and biomarkers.

Research into RSFC and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) techniques in both healthy and diseased populations holds immense promise for mapping brain connectivity and for the creation of early detection systems. Furthermore, the non-invasiveness and wide availability of fMRI make it a valuable tool for studying large and diverse populations, enabling the exploration of individual differences in RSFC and its relationship to behavioral and clinical outcomes. This line of investigation has given rise to the discovery that every individual possesses their own connectivity pattern, akin to a neurobiological signature or fingerprint. Continuing to pursue such research holds great promise in establishing reliable relationships between brain connectivity and behavior, and the development of personalized and targeted therapeutic interventions.

This Collection aimed to foster a comprehensive exploration of RSFC, shedding light on its underlying mechanisms and circulating new insights into its role in health and disease. We invite the submission of articles covering a wide range of topics, including, but not limited to:

Methodological and technological advances in RSFC analysis
    •  Novel approaches for assessing and quantifying RSFC
    •  Computational tools and machine learning algorithms for RSFC dataset analysis
    •  Utilizing deep neural networks to study brain-behavior relationships and diagnose psychiatric and neurological disorders
    •  Integration of multimodal imaging techniques to enhance RSFC characterization

Resting state functional connectivity in health
    •  Elucidating the intrinsic, individualized functional networks of human brains
    •  The role of RSFC in healthy aging and development
    •  RSFC as a predictor of health behavior interventions (e.g., exercise, diet, nutritional supplements) and/or changes with behavioral treatments
    •  Investigating the relationship between RSFC and cognitive processes

Resting state functional connectivity in neurological and psychiatric disorders and conditions
    •  Aberrant RSFC patterns in neurodegenerative diseases
    •  Examining RSFC alterations in psychiatric and substance use disorders
    •  RSFC changes and their implications following traumatic brain injury
    •  Investigating the potential of RSFC as a biomarker for diagnosis and prognosis of neurological and psychiatric disorders, as well as in behavioral and pharmacological treatment responses


Image credit: 4X-image / Getty Images / iStock

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Submission Guidelines

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This Collection welcomes submission of original Research Articles. Should you wish to submit a different article type, please read our submission guidelines to confirm that type is accepted by the journal. Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system, Snapp. During the submission process you will be asked whether you are submitting to a Collection, please select "Resting state functional connectivity in health and disease" from the dropdown menu.

Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all of the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.

The Guest Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer review process. The peer review of any submissions for which the Guest Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.