A second way to assess functional integration is at the whole brain level, not only between pairs of areas. It has been proposed that areas of coherent activity form an integrated “core” while the “rest” of the brain is supposed not to interact with this core, to avoid disturbing its activity. Such core -rest structure is said to be dynamic, ie, susceptible to change from time to time, and to correspond to the network of areas supporting the conscious present.36 In two fMRI studies and one MEG study, during different executive tasks, the “cores” of patients were not different from those of controls, neither in their anatomical distribution, nor in their global integration value. This did not prevent the abovementioned abnormality of functional connectivity. In other words, integration was distributed differently within the “core” of patients (less in the anteroposterior axis, more in the leftright axis). However, the “rest” of the brain, ie, regions not taking part in the ongoing activity, could also play a role in the anomaly of global brain functioning. Indeed, “rest” interacted with the core in
