脳領域間の機能的結合の解析

Analyses of Functional Connectivity between Brain Regions

認知機能は複数の脳領域が関与すると考えられるため，そのしくみを理解するには，脳領域間の情報伝達を明らかにする必要がある。機能的結合解析は，脳活動の領域間の統計的相関や因果的関係で定める機能的結合により脳活動動態を明らかにする解析方法である。本論では，機能的結合解析について概説し，代表的な手法を紹介する。そして，応用事例として，機能的結合解析に基づく神経疾患の診断へ向けた取組みについて紹介する。

Abstract

Because higher-order cognitive functions are supposed to be executed by the interplay between various brain regions, it is necessary to elucidate the neural communication between brain regions to understand the purpose of understanding the mechanism of such brain functions. Therefor, functional connectivity analysis has been rapidly gaining in importance. This is an analysis that illuminates the spatiotemporal dynamics at the whole-brain level based on the functional or effective connections, defined by a statistical correlation or a causal relation of neural activities between brain regions. The present manuscript primarily provides the basic idea of functional connectivity analysis, and then introduces representative methods. Finally, the approaches to the diagnosis of neurological diseases based on this analysis are introduced.