The Occupational Brain Plasticity Study Using Dynamic Functional Connectivity between Multi-Networks: Take Seafarers for Example

Abstract

The exploration of brain plasticity through functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technology is a hot topic in the field of brain science research. In order to explore the specificity of the brain functional networks of seafarers and the influence of marine environment on seafarer brain functional networks. In this paper, nine resting-state brain functional networks of seafarers were studied by using group independent component analysis with intrinsic reference method based on the full use of fMRI priori information, and the static and dynamic functional connections between these brain networks were statistically analyzed. The results showed that there was a significant difference between seafarers and non-seafarers in the dynamic functional connectivity of individual subjects. Furthermore, the dynamic functional connection patterns between the two groups of subjects corresponding to the nine brain networks were extracted by using the sliding time window and clustering methods. It was found through analysis that the brain functional networks underwent specific functional recombination and transformation during the process of brain activity, and showed dynamic functional connectivity states which were significantly different from those of non-seafarers. The research results have important reference value for revealing the specificity of the brain function neural activity of seafarer population and the brain plasticity of seafarer occupation.