Intrinsic cortical geometry is associated with individual differences in local functional organization

Abstract It is widely accepted that the geometry of the cerebral cortex constrains its functional topography. However, how geometric properties contribute to individual differences in cortical organization has not been fully characterized. Here, we investigate whether cortical function varies with cortical geometry across individuals at the local or global scale. We characterize functional organization using the first three gradients of functional connectivity, and project individual surfaces into a shared embedding that captures their intrinsic geometry. Fitting localized spatial models within this embedding using lattice Kriging, we test whether interindividual variation of the gradients is linked to differences in spatial location. These models capture a common spatial structure underlying local gradient transitions across individuals, but do not capture differences in global gradient layout. This suggests that universal geometric properties shape the functional transitions between otherwise stable functional systems, meaningfully contributing to subject-specific functional topography.