牛津大学Mark W. Woolrich课题组在研究中取得进展。他们的论文发现了大规模的皮质功能网络以结构化的循环组织。2025年8月27日出版的《自然—神经科学》发表了这项成果。

在这里，该课题组研究人员研究了规范的、大规模的、被认为是认知基础的皮质功能网络的时间进化。研究组表明，尽管网络动态是随机的，但其活动的总体顺序形成了一个机械的周期性模式。这种循环结构在循环的特定阶段将具有相似功能和光谱含量的状态分组，并发生在300-1000ms的时间尺度上。这些结果在5个大型脑磁图数据集中得到了再现。

此外，该课题组表明表征循环强度和速度的指标是可遗传的，并与年龄、认知和行为表现有关。这些结果表明，一组典型的大规模皮质功能网络的激活以固有的周期性方式组织，确保了基本认知功能的周期性激活。

研究人员表示，大脑无缝地执行一系列不同的认知功能，如注意力、记忆和感觉处理，但目前还不清楚它是如何确保这些功能在合理的时间内完成的。满足这一要求的一种方式是，如果这些认知功能都是一个重复循环的一部分。

附：英文原文

Title: Large-scale cortical functional networks are organized in structured cycles

Author: van Es, Mats W. J., Higgins, Cameron, Gohil, Chetan, Quinn, Andrew J., Vidaurre, Diego, Woolrich, Mark W.

Issue&Volume: 2025-08-27

Abstract: The brain seamlessly performs a diverse set of cognitive functions like attention, memory and sensory processing, yet it is unclear how it ensures that each of these is fulfilled within a reasonable period. One way in which this requirement can be met is if each of these cognitive functions occurs as part of a repeated cycle. Here we studied the temporal evolution of canonical, large-scale, cortical functional networks that are thought to underlie cognition. We showed that, although network dynamics are stochastic, the overall ordering of their activity forms a robust cyclical pattern. This cyclical structure groups states with similar function and spectral content at specific phases of the cycle and occurs at timescales of 300–1,000ms. These results are reproduced in five large magnetoencephalography datasets. Moreover, we show that metrics that characterize the cycle strength and speed are heritable and relate to age, cognition and behavioral performance. These results show that the activations of a canonical set of large-scale cortical functional networks are organized in an inherently cyclical manner, ensuring periodic activation of essential cognitive functions.

DOI: 10.1038/s41593-025-02052-8

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-025-02052-8