Association between Scale-Free Brain Dynamics and Behavioral Performance: Functional MRI Study in Resting State and Face Processing Task

Masato Kasagi, Zirui Huang, Kosuke Narita, Hitoshi Shitara, Tomokazu Motegi, Yusuke Suzuki, Kazuyuki Fujihara, Sean Tanabe, Hirotaka Kosaka, Koichi Ujita, Masato Fukuda, Georg Northoff

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The scale-free dynamics of human brain activity, characterized by an elaborate temporal structure with scale-free properties, can be quantified using the power-law exponent (PLE) as an index. Power laws are well documented in nature in general, particularly in the brain. Some previous fMRI studies have demonstrated a lower PLE during cognitive-task-evoked activity than during resting state activity. However, PLE modulation during cognitive-task-evoked activity and its relationship with an associated behavior remain unclear. In this functional fMRI study in the resting state and face processing + control task, we investigated PLE during both the resting state and task-evoked activities, as well as its relationship with behavior measured using mean reaction time (mRT) during the task. We found that (1) face discrimination-induced BOLD signal changes in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), amygdala, and fusiform face area; (2) PLE significantly decreased during task-evoked activity specifically in mPFC compared with resting state activity; (3) most importantly, in mPFC, mRT significantly negatively correlated with both resting state PLE and the resting-task PLE difference. These results may lead to a better understanding of the associations between task performance parameters (e.g., mRT) and the scale-free dynamics of spontaneous and task-evoked brain activities.

Original languageEnglish
Article number2824615
JournalBehavioural Neurology
Volume2017
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2017

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology
  • Neurology
  • Clinical Neurology

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