Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a non-invasive and in-vivo imaging technique essential for measuring brain activity. Functional connectivity is used to study associations between brain regions, either while study subjects perform tasks or during periods of rest. In this paper, we propose a rigorous definition of task-evoked functional connectivity at the population level (ptFC). Importantly, our proposed ptFC is interpretable in the context of task-fMRI studies. An algorithm for estimating the ptFC is provided. We present the performance of the proposed algorithm compared to existing functional connectivity frameworks using simulations. Lastly, we apply the proposed algorithm to estimate the ptFC in a motor-task study from the Human Connectome Project.

翻译：功能磁共振成像（fMRI）是一种无创、在体的成像技术，对于测量大脑活动至关重要。功能连接用于研究脑区之间的关联，无论是受试者在执行任务期间还是静息状态下。本文提出了群体水平任务诱发功能连接（ptFC）的严格定义。重要的是，我们提出的ptFC在任务fMRI研究背景下具有可解释性。我们提供了一种用于估计ptFC的算法。通过仿真实验，我们展示了所提算法与现有功能连接框架相比的性能。最后，我们将所提算法应用于人类连接组项目中一项运动任务研究的ptFC估计。