A Unified Framework for Modularizing and Comparing Time-Resolved Functional Connectivity Methods

Functional connectivity is a widely used measure for finding the relationships between functional entities of the brain. Recently, more focus has been put on the methods that aim to estimate these relationships in a time-resolved fashion. However, the similarities and differences between these methods are not always clear and can result in unfair and incorrect comparisons. Here, we present a framework that provides a unified, systematic view for some of the more well-known methods. Using the proposed unified framework, we explain different methodologies using a unified language and show how they are similar and different conceptually. We give examples how this framework exposes important assumptions made by various methods, which can help clarify differences in results and facilitate reproducibility. We also show how such a framework will enable us to develop methods that improve upon previous methods.