Intrinsic dynamic shapes responses to external stimulation in the human brain
Sensory stimulation of the brain reverberates in its recurrent neural networks. However, current computational models of brain activity do not separate immediate sensory responses from this intrinsic dynamic. We apply a vector-autoregressive model with external input (VARX), combining the concepts o...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
2025-07-01
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| Series: | eLife |
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| Online Access: | https://elifesciences.org/articles/104996 |
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| author | Maximilian Nentwich Marcin Leszczynski Charles E Schroeder Stephan Bickel Lucas C Parra |
| author_facet | Maximilian Nentwich Marcin Leszczynski Charles E Schroeder Stephan Bickel Lucas C Parra |
| author_sort | Maximilian Nentwich |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Sensory stimulation of the brain reverberates in its recurrent neural networks. However, current computational models of brain activity do not separate immediate sensory responses from this intrinsic dynamic. We apply a vector-autoregressive model with external input (VARX), combining the concepts of ‘functional connectivity’ and ‘encoding models’, to intracranial recordings in humans. This model captures the extrinsic effect of the stimulus and separates that from the intrinsic effect of the recurrent brain dynamic. We find that the intrinsic dynamic enhances and prolongs the neural responses to scene cuts, eye movements, and sounds. Failing to account for these extrinsic inputs leads to spurious recurrent connections that govern the intrinsic dynamic. We also find that the recurrent connectivity during rest is reduced during movie watching. The model shows that an external stimulus can reduce intrinsic noise. It also shows that sensory areas have mostly outward, whereas higher-order brain areas have mostly incoming connections. We conclude that the response to an external audiovisual stimulus can largely be attributed to the intrinsic dynamic of the brain, already observed during rest. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-fa1bd305e7b34823b0d619269e9f3ab2 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2050-084X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | eLife Sciences Publications Ltd |
| record_format | Article |
| series | eLife |
| spelling | doaj-art-fa1bd305e7b34823b0d619269e9f3ab22025-08-20T03:15:27ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2025-07-011410.7554/eLife.104996Intrinsic dynamic shapes responses to external stimulation in the human brainMaximilian Nentwich0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9306-7591Marcin Leszczynski1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3172-4661Charles E Schroeder2Stephan Bickel3Lucas C Parra4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4667-816XThe Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, Northwell Health, Manhasset, United StatesDepartments of Psychiatry and Neurology, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, United States; Translational Neuroscience Lab Division, Center for Biomedical Imaging and Neuromodulation, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, United States; Cognitive Science Department, Institute of Philosophy, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, PolandDepartments of Psychiatry and Neurology, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, United States; Translational Neuroscience Lab Division, Center for Biomedical Imaging and Neuromodulation, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, United StatesThe Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, Northwell Health, Manhasset, United States; Translational Neuroscience Lab Division, Center for Biomedical Imaging and Neuromodulation, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, United States; Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Hempstead, United StatesDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, The City College of New York, New York, United StatesSensory stimulation of the brain reverberates in its recurrent neural networks. However, current computational models of brain activity do not separate immediate sensory responses from this intrinsic dynamic. We apply a vector-autoregressive model with external input (VARX), combining the concepts of ‘functional connectivity’ and ‘encoding models’, to intracranial recordings in humans. This model captures the extrinsic effect of the stimulus and separates that from the intrinsic effect of the recurrent brain dynamic. We find that the intrinsic dynamic enhances and prolongs the neural responses to scene cuts, eye movements, and sounds. Failing to account for these extrinsic inputs leads to spurious recurrent connections that govern the intrinsic dynamic. We also find that the recurrent connectivity during rest is reduced during movie watching. The model shows that an external stimulus can reduce intrinsic noise. It also shows that sensory areas have mostly outward, whereas higher-order brain areas have mostly incoming connections. We conclude that the response to an external audiovisual stimulus can largely be attributed to the intrinsic dynamic of the brain, already observed during rest.https://elifesciences.org/articles/104996connectivitygranger analysisencoding modelsrecurrent networksintracranial EEGnaturalistic |
| spellingShingle | Maximilian Nentwich Marcin Leszczynski Charles E Schroeder Stephan Bickel Lucas C Parra Intrinsic dynamic shapes responses to external stimulation in the human brain eLife connectivity granger analysis encoding models recurrent networks intracranial EEG naturalistic |
| title | Intrinsic dynamic shapes responses to external stimulation in the human brain |
| title_full | Intrinsic dynamic shapes responses to external stimulation in the human brain |
| title_fullStr | Intrinsic dynamic shapes responses to external stimulation in the human brain |
| title_full_unstemmed | Intrinsic dynamic shapes responses to external stimulation in the human brain |
| title_short | Intrinsic dynamic shapes responses to external stimulation in the human brain |
| title_sort | intrinsic dynamic shapes responses to external stimulation in the human brain |
| topic | connectivity granger analysis encoding models recurrent networks intracranial EEG naturalistic |
| url | https://elifesciences.org/articles/104996 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT maximiliannentwich intrinsicdynamicshapesresponsestoexternalstimulationinthehumanbrain AT marcinleszczynski intrinsicdynamicshapesresponsestoexternalstimulationinthehumanbrain AT charleseschroeder intrinsicdynamicshapesresponsestoexternalstimulationinthehumanbrain AT stephanbickel intrinsicdynamicshapesresponsestoexternalstimulationinthehumanbrain AT lucascparra intrinsicdynamicshapesresponsestoexternalstimulationinthehumanbrain |