Investigating connectional characteristics of Motor Cortex network

To understand the connectivity of cerebral cortex, especially the spatial and temporal pattern of movement, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during subjects performing finger key presses was used to extract functional networks and then investigated their characteristics. Motor cortex networks were constructed with activation areas obtained with statistical analysis as vertexes and correlation coefficients of fMRI time series as linking strength. The equivalent non-motor cortex networks were constructed with certain distance rules. The graphic and dynamical measures of motor cortex networks and non-motor cortex networks were calculated, which shows the motor cortex networks are more compact, having higher statistical independence and integration than the non-motor cortex networks. It indicates the motor cortex networks are more appropriate for information diffusion.