Rest assured: Dynamic functional connectivity and the baseline state of the human brain

Abstract

While dynamic functional connectivity remains controversial in human neuroimaging, the transient nature of interareal coupling is considered a robust finding in other fields of neuroscience. Nevertheless, the origin and interpretation of these dynamics are still under debate. This letter argues that ongoing cognition is not sufficient to account for dynamic functional connectivity. Instead, it is proposed that the baseline state of the brain is inherently unstable, leading to dynamics that are of neural origin but not directly implicated in cognition. This perspective also reinforces the usefulness of conducting experiments during the resting state.