Connectivity Patterns Produced Without Neuronal Activity

Todd B. Harshbarger¹, Allen W. Song¹

Functional connectivity in the human brain has been an area of increasing study. Although neural activity provides a portion of the fluctuations seen within the brain, it is unclear if functional connectivity can be observed based on vascular changes alone. In this study, we perform resting state connectivity analysis on human legs. This model provides vascular changes without neuronal input. We find that significant functional connectivity, both within and between legs, is observed. This result indicates that vascular contributions alone can produce functional connectivity, and future studies of connectivity in brain should consider methods to reduce possible confounding vascular contributions.