Cooper, Gregory Joseph;
(2025)
The time isn’t now: On the organisation of asynchronous functional connectivity in the brain, and its relation to cognition.
Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
![[thumbnail of Cooper_10203291_Thesis_id_removed.pdf]](https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/style/images/fileicons/text.png) |
Text
Cooper_10203291_Thesis_id_removed.pdf Access restricted to UCL open access staff until 1 August 2025. Download (32MB) |
Abstract
The brain processes sensory information over various timescales at once. This thesis will present evidence that this capability is supported by the organisation of asynchronous connectivity in the brain, whereby contextual information at one timescale can influence the processing of sensory information at another. In contrast to the prevailing view of increasing receptivity to longer informational timescales along the primary functional gradient of the neocortex—from early sensory processing to higher-order cognition, I show that regions at either end communicate with the rest of the brain over the longest timescales, owing to their respective positions as terminal hubs for top down and bottom up signalling. In Chapter Two and Three, I introduce and validate a novel fMRI analysis technique to examine asynchronous functional connectivity in the brain. I show that while watching movies, primary sensory and transmodal cortices exhibit the longest connectivity delays, in the order of tens of seconds. Chapter Four provides further support of this, showing that contextual disruption of auditory narratives via temporal scrambling attenuates the timescales of asynchronous connections received in similar regions. I also demonstrate an effect of a measure of linguistic uncertainty-in-context across windows of movie dialogue on the average connectivity-delay received by these regions, suggesting delayed connectivity relates to predictive signalling. In Study Five, I present evidence for a theory that the human sense of self is contingent on the neurobiology of language, Using inter-subject representational similarity analysis, I found an association between psychedelic-induced ego dissolution and a loss of idiosyncratic activity and global integration within language-associated regions. Taken together, this work supports the notion that local activity is shaped by prior activity in distant regions, reflecting a mechanism by which prior contextual information shapes ongoing cognition.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ph.D |
| Title: | The time isn’t now: On the organisation of asynchronous functional connectivity in the brain, and its relation to cognition |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2025. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| Keywords: | Cognition, fMRI, language, LSD, naturalistic, perception, psilocybin, selfhood, time |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Clinical, Edu and Hlth Psychology |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10203291 |
Loading...
Loading...Loading...Loading...Archive Staff Only
 |
View Item |
