Functional networks of the brain: from connectivity restoration to dynamic integration

A review of physical and mathematical methods for reconstructing the functional networks of the brain based on recorded brain activity is presented. Various methods are considered, as are their advantages and disadvantages and limitations of the application. Problems applying the theory of complex networks to reconstructed functional networks of the brain to explain the effects of dynamic integration in the brain and their influence on the diverse functionality of the brain and consciousness, as well as processes leading to the pathological activity of the central nervous system, are examined. Questions concerning the application of these approaches are considered both to describe the functioning of the brain in various cognitive and pathological processes and to create new brain–computer interfaces based on the detection of changes in functional connections in the brain.