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Spontaneous and Task-Evoked Brain Activity Negatively Interact
Open accessAbstract
A widely held assumption is that spontaneous and task-evoked brain activity sum linearly, such that the recorded brain response in each single trial is the algebraic sum of the constantly changing ongoing activity and the stereotypical evoked activity. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging signals acquired from normal humans, we show that this assumption is invalid. Across widespread cortices, evoked activity interacts negatively with ongoing activity, such that higher prestimulus baseline results in less activation or more deactivation. As a consequence of this negative interaction, trial-to-trial variability of cortical activity decreases following stimulus onset. We further show that variability reduction follows overlapping but distinct spatial pattern from that of task-activation/deactivation and it contains behaviorally relevant information. These results favor an alternative perspective to the traditional dichotomous framework of ongoing and evoked activity. That is, to view the brain as a nonlinear dynamical system whose trajectory is tighter when performing a task. Further, incoming sensory stimuli modulate the brain's activity in a manner that depends on its initial state. We propose that across-trial variability may provide a new approach to brain mapping in the context of cognitive experiments.
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“and interacts with tasks or stimuli (156, 157).”
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Metadata
- Authors
- He, B. J.
- Affiliations
- National Institutes of Health (US)
- Corresponding author
- He, Biyu J.
- ORCID
- He, Biyu J.
- Venue
- The Journal of Neuroscience
- Publisher
- Society for Neuroscience
- Published
- 2013-03-13
- Volume
- 33
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 4672-4682
- ISSN
- 0270-6474 (ISSN-L)
- 1529-2401
- PMC
- PMC3637953
- OpenAlex
- W2040079144
- Cited by
- 272
- References
- 73
- Citations by year
- 2026: 13 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 28 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 31 · 2020: 28 · 2019: 20 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 27 · 2016: 18 · 2015: 18 · 2014: 15 · 2013: 6
- FWCI
- 10.38
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (Z99 NS999999)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural dynamics and brain function
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Keywords
- spontaneous brain activity, ongoing activity, trial-to-trial variability, cortical deactivation, nonlinear brain dynamics, brain mapping, functional MRI
- MeSH terms
- Adaptation, Physiological, Brain, Brain Mapping, Female, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Oxygen, Psychomotor Performance, Reaction Time, Time Factors, Linear Models, Feedback, Physiological
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