Amplitude-amplitude (AAC), phase-phase (PPC), and phase-amplitude (PAC) coupling of brain
activity are mechanisms that shape the information flow across multiple spatiotemporal scales;
however, it is unclear how they are related. We used source-space projected resting-state
magnetoencephalography data and empirical mode decomposition to obtain AAC-, PPC-, and
PAC-based functional connectivity matrices. We found that specific PAC interactions are highly
variable across subjects, but the global topological properties of the network are consistent. PPC
and AAC were consistent at both the local and global scales. Additionally, the higher the spatial
complexity of PAC is, the stronger its correlation with AAC and PPC will be. Finally, direct and
indirect functional connections are differently correlated to the properties of the underlying
anatomical scaffold. Together, our results suggest that PPC of high frequencies facilitates the
integration of information, AAC of low frequencies facilitates the segregation of information, and
PAC is the mechanism binding these two information streams
