(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2022-05)
Huell, Derek Terrell
Quasi-periodic patterns (QPPs) are a form of low-frequency neural activity that include the interactions of both default mode and task positive networks. As this brain activity occurs constantly in our brains, they are suspected to contribute to the brain's functional connectivity. This is critical to our understanding understanding of the coordination of activity between multiple brain regions over time to accomplish tasks. Thus, this cognitive neuroscience study will seek to illuminate the effects of underlying brain mechanisms on QPPs, representing functional connectivity. Previous literature has shown that the pattern of QPPs may vary between individuals and with levels of sleep, and this variability may impact the brain's functional connectivity. In this study, we will analyze neural activity while participants complete 0-back, 2-back, and flanker tasks and a resting state fMRI scan, and pair these results with a wearable accelerometer to evaluate how sleep levels affect QPPs.