Equidistance between Primary Sensory-Motor Landmarks Shapes Functional Specialization in the Human Brain
9 affiliations
- 1Department of Psychology, University of York, York YO10 5NA, United Kingdom
- 2York Neuroimaging Centre, Innovation Way, York YO10 5NY, United Kingdom
- 3Departament de Psicologia Evolutiva, Educativa, Social i Metodologia, Universitat Jaume I, Castelló de la Plana 12006, Spain
- 4State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- 5Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- 6Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
- 7Department of Psychology, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada
- 8Oxford Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (OxCIN), FMRIB, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DU, United Kingdom
- 9Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Oxford UAR 3129, United Kingdom
Abstract
The human cortex is organized around primary sensory-motor landmarks, but the way these distances shape large-scale functional organization remains unclear. Using geodesic measures in males and females, we show that global minimum distance to sensory-motor landmarks aligns with the principal gradient of intrinsic connectivity, reflecting the shift from unimodal to heteromodal cortex, while equidistance between landmarks captures complementary organizational patterns. Heteromodal networks, including default mode, control, and limbic systems, occupy cortical regions that are both distant from primary systems and relatively balanced between them. Subsystems within these networks exhibit distinctive spatial embeddings: core default mode regions sit equidistant between visual and somatomotor cortex, frontotemporal default mode regions favor auditory cortex but remain relatively balanced, and medial temporal regions are biased toward visual cortex. Control network subsystems also vary: the control-DMN subsystem occupies the most distant and equidistant positions, core control is closer to motor regions, and medial control is closer to visual cortex, reflecting their different functional specializations. At the parcel level, greater equidistance predicts stronger task-evoked activation, particularly in heteromodal border zones. These findings highlight two complementary spatial principles—proximity and balance—that structure the cortex, shaping both the location and functional profile of heteromodal networks.
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BibTeX
@article{marinmarin2026equidistance,
title = {{Equidistance between Primary Sensory-Motor Landmarks Shapes Functional Specialization in the Human Brain}},
author = {Lidón Marin-Marin and Xiuyi Wang and Jonathan Smallwood and Daniel S. Margulies and Elizabeth Jefferies},
journal = {The Journal of Neuroscience},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1523/jneurosci.0352-26.2026},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1523/jneurosci.0352-26.2026},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Equidistance between Primary Sensory-Motor Landmarks Shapes Functional Specialization in the Human Brain
AU - Lidón Marin-Marin
AU - Xiuyi Wang
AU - Jonathan Smallwood
AU - Daniel S. Margulies
AU - Elizabeth Jefferies
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/24
JO - The Journal of Neuroscience
DO - 10.1523/jneurosci.0352-26.2026
UR - https://doi.org/10.1523/jneurosci.0352-26.2026
AB - The human cortex is organized around primary sensory-motor landmarks, but the way these distances shape large-scale functional organization remains unclear. Using geodesic measures in males and females, we show that global minimum distance to sensory-motor landmarks aligns with the principal gradient of intrinsic connectivity, reflecting the shift from unimodal to heteromodal cortex, while equidistance between landmarks captures complementary organizational patterns. Heteromodal networks, including default mode, control, and limbic systems, occupy cortical regions that are both distant from primary systems and relatively balanced between them. Subsystems within these networks exhibit distinctive spatial embeddings: core default mode regions sit equidistant between visual and somatomotor cortex, frontotemporal default mode regions favor auditory cortex but remain relatively balanced, and medial temporal regions are biased toward visual cortex. Control network subsystems also vary: the control-DMN subsystem occupies the most distant and equidistant positions, core control is closer to motor regions, and medial control is closer to visual cortex, reflecting their different functional specializations. At the parcel level, greater equidistance predicts stronger task-evoked activation, particularly in heteromodal border zones. These findings highlight two complementary spatial principles—proximity and balance—that structure the cortex, shaping both the location and functional profile of heteromodal networks.
SN - 0270-6474
SN - 1529-2401
ER -