Intrinsic resting‐state activity predicts working memory brain activation and behavioral performance

Abstract

Although resting‐state brain activity has been demonstrated to correspond with task‐evoked brain activation, the relationship between intrinsic and evoked brain activity has not been fully characterized. For example, it is unclear whether intrinsic activity can also predict task‐evoked deactivation and whether the rest–task relationship is dependent on task load. In this study, we addressed these issues on 40 healthy control subjects using resting‐state and task‐driven [N‐back working memory (WM) task] functional magnetic resonance imaging data collected in the same session. Using amplitude of low‐frequency fluctuation (ALFF) as an index of intrinsic resting‐state activity, we found that ALFF in the middle frontal gyrus and inferior/superior parietal lobules was positively correlated with WM task‐evoked activation, while ALFF in the medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, superior frontal gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, and fusiform gyrus was negatively correlated with WM task‐evoked deactivation. Further, the relationship between the intrinsic resting‐state activity and task‐evoked activation in lateral/superior frontal gyri, inferior/superior parietal lobules, superior temporal gyrus, and midline regions was stronger at higher WM task loads. In addition, both resting‐state activity and the task‐evoked activation in the superior parietal lobule/precuneus were significantly correlated with the WM task behavioral performance, explaining similar portions of intersubject performance variance. Together, these findings suggest that intrinsic resting‐state activity facilitates or is permissive of specific brain circuit engagement to perform a cognitive task, and that resting activity can predict subsequent task‐evoked brain responses and behavioral performance. Hum Brain Mapp 34:3204–3215, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.