Dynamic reshaping of functional brain networks during visual object recognition

TL;DR

This study investigates how the brain's modular network organization dynamically changes during rapid visual object recognition, revealing differences based on stimulus meaningfulness and linking network features to recognition speed.

Contribution

It demonstrates that brain network modularity varies during recognition of meaningful versus meaningless images and identifies specific regions predictive of recognition speed.

Findings

Greater network integration during meaningless image recognition.

Occurrence in right frontal and left occipito-temporal regions predicts recognition speed.

Dynamic modularity changes can inform understanding of fast cognitive functions.

Abstract

Emerging evidence shows that the modular organization of the human brain allows for better and efficient cognitive performance. Many of these cognitive functions are very fast and occur in subsecond time scale such as the visual object recognition. Here, we investigate brain network modularity while controlling stimuli meaningfulness and measuring participant reaction time. We particularly raised two questions: i) does the dynamic brain network modularity change during the recognition of meaningful and meaningless visual images? And ii) is there a correlation between network modularity and the reaction time of participants? To tackle these issues, we collected dense electroencephalography (EEG, 256 channels) data from 20 healthy human subjects performing a cognitive task consisting of naming meaningful (tools, animals) and meaningless (scrambled) images. Functional brain networks in both categories were estimated at subsecond time scale using the EEG source connectivity method. By using multislice modularity algorithms, we tracked the reconfiguration of functional networks during the recognition of both meaningful and meaningless images. Results showed a difference in the module characteristics of both conditions in term of integration (interactions between modules) and occurrence (probability on average of any two brain regions to fall in the same module during the task). Integration and occurrence were greater for meaningless than for meaningful images. Our findings revealed also that the occurrence within the right frontal regions and the left occipito-temporal can help to predict the ability of the brain to rapidly recognize and name visual stimuli. We speculate that these observations are applicable not only to other fast cognitive functions but also to detect fast disconnections that can occur in some brain disorders.