Functional contrast across the gray-white matter boundary

Abstract

Functional magnetic resonance imaging studies have traditionally focused on gray matter, overlooking white matter despite growing evidence that functional blood oxygenation-level dependent effects also occur there. In particular, functional coupling across the gray-white matter boundary, an interface between local and global processing, remains poorly understood. This study introduces two metrics: gray-white matter functional connectivity, which captures temporal synchrony across the boundary, and gray-white blood oxygenation-level dependent power ratio, which reflects differences in signal amplitude. Gray-white matter functional connectivity aligns with patterns of myelination, long-range connectivity, and sensorimotor organization, suggesting efficient signal transmission. In contrast, the power ratio shows an inverse pattern, with higher values in higher-order regions, possibly reflecting increased metabolic demands in white matter. It also increases with age (8 to 21 years), suggesting developmental shifts in energetic demands. Together, these metrics highlight distinct yet complementary roles of signal fidelity and energy modulation at the gray-white matter boundary.