Intrinsic brain activity, that is, neural processes unrelated to immediate sensory and motor functions, has been known to exist for nearly a century. However, the physiological functions of this activity remain poorly understood. Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (RS-fMRI) has emerged as a major technique for studying the brain's intrinsic activity. This review briefly discusses the history of related scientific developments antecedent to the discovery of RS-fMRI. Next, the major features of intrinsic activity, as observed using RS-fMRI, are presented in some detail. Intrinsic activity is spatio-temporally organized into functional systems known as resting state networks (RSNs). Several aspects of RSNs are discussed, including topographic relations to task-evoked responses, plasticity, state dependence, and development over the lifespan. Several crucial aspects of practical RS-fMRI are discussed, including the problem of artifact and strategies for minimizing the impact of artifact. The last part of this review discusses the current state of RS-fMRI as applied to the study of neurologic and psychiatric conditions.
CITATION STYLE
Snyder, A. Z. (2015). Intrinsic Brain Activity and Resting State Networks. In Neuroscience in the 21st Century (pp. 1–52). Springer New York. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6434-1_133-1
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