Dynamic reconfiguration of the default mode network during narrative comprehension

Does the default mode network (DMN) reconfigure to encode information
about the changing environment? This question has proven difficult,
because patterns of functional connectivity reflect a mixture of
stimulus-induced neural processes, intrinsic neural processes and
non-neuronal noise. Here we introduce inter-subject functional correlation
(ISFC), which isolates stimulus-dependent inter-regional correlations
between brains exposed to the same stimulus. During fMRI, we had subjects
listen to a real-life auditory narrative and to temporally scrambled
versions of the narrative. We used ISFC to isolate correlation patterns
within the DMN that were locked to the processing of each narrative
segment and specific to its meaning within the narrative context. The
momentary configurations of DMN ISFC were highly replicable across groups.
Moreover, DMN coupling strength predicted memory of narrative segments.
Thus, ISFC opens new avenues for linking brain network dynamics to
stimulus features and behaviour. Subjects were scanned in a 3T full-body
MRI scanner while listening to a three version of a story, an intact
version, a version in paragraph scramble condition, and word scramble
condition. Download the README.txt file for a detailed description of this
dataset's content