Do neural oscillations reconfigure their networks to support adaptive listening behavior?

Recently we provided a large-scale brain network account of adaptive listening behavior. Our study illustrated how modular reconfiguration of cortical networks derived from brain hemodynamic responses shape individuals’ listening behavior, and accordingly posed an important question: Do frequency-specific neural oscillations reconfigure their networks at large-scale as they get engaged in active listening? Here we address this question by combining source imaging of scalp electrophysiological signals with frequency-resolved graph-theoretical network analysis. We first show that power-envelope correlation between neural oscillations within alpha/beta frequency band can be reliably measured during both resting and listening states. These correlations show a good agreement with those derived from brain hemodynamic responses. However, we find that there is no one-to-one correspondence between the modularity of hemodynamic brain networks and amplitude-coupled neural oscillations at a specific frequency. Our results suggest that precise spectral and topological characterization of amplitude-coupled neural oscillations requires frequency- and connection-resolved investigation.