Dynamic Fusion: Merging Structural and Functional Connectivity Dynamics Via Joint CMICA

This study introduces ‘dynamic fusion’, a novel framework that bridges structural and functional connectivity in the context of dynamic reconfiguration, to illustrate how brain networks adapt over time. By combining insights from functional MRI data on functional networks with diffusion MRI measurements of anatomical connections, dynamic fusion employs a joint analysis method, ‘joint cmICA’, to analyze their relationship over time. Our approach gauges the interplay between these joint components across various temporal states, aiming to discover both static and transient features of brain connectivity. Applied to empirical MRI data, our approach reveals how intricately structural connectivity patterns adapt to support functional dynamics and demands. Overall, dynamic fusion is an innovative tool for integrating connectivity data, advancing our understanding into fundamental principles of brain organization and operation.