Brain connectivity is the structural and functional link that exists between different areas within the brain. The need for high-level flow of information as provided by connectivity underlies coordinated activity in many different cognitive, emotional, and behavioral processes. Recent advances in neuroimaging have provided powerful tools that researchers can use to better explore brain connectivity
This may be one of the most important findings in brain connectivity research: how emotions and behavior are represented in the brain. The researchers found that emotions aren’t represented in a specific locus within the brain but are represented by the interplay of interconnected networks.
For example, a small almond-shaped structure located in the temporal lobe called the amygdala plays an important role in processing fear and anxiety-related information, but does not act alone. A network consisting of structures in the frontal lobe, such as the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and other limbic regions, is involved in the expression and regulation of emotion and decision-making.
The neural basis of many behavioral disorders has also been unraveled through connectivity in the brain. Researchers published in the journal Brain Connectivity report that functional connectivity within brain regions involved in social cognition and processing of emotions is altered in individuals with autism spectrum disorder. For example, this lower connectivity between the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex contributes to some of the social and emotional difficulties faced by individuals with ASD.
Connectivity in the brain has also been implicated in the development and maintenance of addictive behaviors. A study that was published in Addiction Biology found that functional connectivity between the prefrontal cortex and the striatum is different in people with substance use disorders compared to those without such disorders. Altered connectivity may drive these compulsive drug-seeking behaviors and associated difficulties in impulse control, which are hallmarks of addiction.
Understanding of connectivity in the brain has significant implications in the design of targeted interventions toward various mental health disorders. Determining exactly the type of altered connectivity patterns associated with specific disorders proposed novel treatment toward the restoration of healthy patterns of connectivity. For example, neurofeedback, a technique through which people can learn to selfregulate their brain activity, has been used to target altered connectivity patterns in individuals with depression and anxiety.
In other words, the research on connectivity in the brain utterly changed our knowledge regarding how the brain processes emotions and how behavior is regulated. Solid information about neural mechanisms concerning several cognitive and emotional processes could be retrieved from connection mapping among various parts of the brain. Continued technological breakthroughs alone will no doubt uncover a lot more interesting things about connectivity in the brain and maybe where it will lead us in treatments in not-so-distant futures.
