Studies of the Temporal Dynamics of Brain Networks in Typical and Atypical Development

Abstract

Resting-state EEG microstates have been used to study the temporal dynamics of brain networks across various functional states and pathophysiology in adults. Differences in brain network activity have been observed at rest in fMRI studies as a function of different resting-state conditions (e.g. eyes-open versus eyes-closed), age and between individuals with and without Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). To date only one study comparing these resting-state conditions has been performed using EEG microstates in healthy adults and very few studies of temporal dynamics in ASD exist in literature. My dissertation studies have sought to address how EEG microstate architecture is altered 1) in typically developing (TD) children across resting-state conditions 2) between TD and ASD children across resting-state conditions 3) across various EEG preprocessing pipelines. The results from these studies suggest that, in TD children, the availability of visual information during resting state impacts not only the temporal dynamics of the microstate associated with the visual network but also those related to other brain networks. In children with ASD, the microstate associated with the default mode network shows atypical architecture in eyes-closed resting-state and may be an indicator of altered interoceptive processes in individuals with ASD. These results are consistent with the findings from fMRI studies and provide additional insight on the temporal characteristics of the brain networks.