Echoes of the Brain: Local-Scale Representation of Whole-Brain Functional Networks within Transmodal Cortex

Transmodal (nonsensory-specific) regions sit at the confluence of different information streams, and play an important role in cognition. These regions are thought to receive and integrate information from multiple functional networks. However, little is known about (1) how transmodal cortices are functionally organized and (2) how this organization might facilitate information processing. In this article, we discuss recent findings that transmodal cortices contain a detailed local functional architecture of adjacent and partially overlapping subregions. These subregions show relative specializations, and contain traces or “echoes” of the activity of different large-scale intrinsic connectivity networks. We propose that this finer-grained organization can (1) explain how the same transmodal region can play a role in multiple tasks and cognitive disorders, (2) provide a mechanism by which different types of signals can be simultaneously segregated and integrated within transmodal regions, and (3) enhance current network- and node-level models of brain function, by showing that non-stationary functional connectivity patterns may be a result of dynamic shifts in subnodal signals. Finally, we propose that LFA may have an important role in regulating neural dynamics and facilitating balanced activity across the cortex to enable efficient and flexible high-level cognition.