The dynamics of resting fluctuations in the brain: metastability and its dynamical cortical core

In the human brain, spontaneous activity during resting state consists of rapid transitions between functional network states over time but the underlying mechanisms are not understood. We use computational brain network modeling to reveal fundamental principles of how the human brain generates large scale activity observable by noninvasive neuroimaging. By including individual structural and functional neuroimaging data into brain network models we construct personalized brain models. With this novel approach, we reveal that the human brain during resting state operates at maximum metastability, i.e. in a state of maximum network switching. Personalized, i.e. person-specific brain network modelling goes beyond correlational neuroimaging analysis and reveals the network mechanisms underlying non-invasive observations.