Brain Connectivity Analysis: A Critical Review and Some Progress

• Activity Number: 110
• Type: Invited
• Date/Time: Monday, August 10, 2015 : 8:30 AM to 10:20 AM
• Sponsor: Section on Statistics in Imaging
• Author(s): Victor Solo*
• Companies: University of New South Wales
• Keywords: connectivity ; network ; fMRI ; ERGM ; graphical model

Abstract

We survey briefly the state of brain connectivity/brain network modelling with regard to scientific issues at stake and strengths and weaknesses of current approaches. Our emphasis is on fMRI but we will offer brief comments on other modalities. We deal with activity networks i.e. networks deriving from function but emphasize that such networks also have architecture. We first discuss then some architectural aspects particularly associated with small world networks and exponential random graph models (ERGMs). We also mention some emerging methods such as persistent homology. We then consider functional aspects based on correlation and component analysis networks pointing to numerous difficulties of modelling, statistical analysis and interpretation. We discuss some of our own recent research which attempts to deal with some of the problems raised. We finish by suggesting a series of significant issues for future work.