Data Integration with Fusion Searchlight: Classifying Brain States from Resting-state fMRI

Spontaneous neural activity observed in resting-state fMRI is characterized by complex spatio-temporal dynamics. Different measures related to local and global brain connectivity and fluctuations in low-frequency amplitudes can quantify individual aspects of these neural dynamics. Even though such measures are derived from the same functional signals, they are often evaluated separately, neglecting their interrelations and potentially reducing the analysis sensitivity. In our study, we present a fusion searchlight (FuSL) framework to combine the complementary information contained in different resting-state fMRI metrics and demonstrate how this can improve the decoding of brain states. Moreover, we show how explainable AI allows us to reconstruct the differential impact of each metric on the decoding, which additionally increases spatial specificity of searchlight analysis. In general, this framework can be adapted to combine information derived from different imaging modalities or experimental conditions, offering a versatile and interpretable tool for data fusion in neuroimaging.