Xu J, Rees G, Yin X, Song C, Han Y, Ge H, Pang Z, Xu W, Tang Y, Friston K, Liu S
Research Center for Sectional and Imaging Anatomy, Shandong University School of Medicine, Jinan, Shandong, China; UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, London, United Kingdom; Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London (UCL) Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom.
UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, London, United Kingdom; Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London (UCL) Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom.
Neuroscience. 2014 Mar 28;263:181-92. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2014.01.020. Epub 2014 Jan 18.
Executive control of attention regulates our thoughts, emotion and behavior. Individual differences in executive control are associated with task-related differences in brain activity. But it is unknown whether attentional differences depend on endogenous (resting state) brain activity and to what extent regional fluctuations and functional connectivity contribute to individual variations in executive control processing. Here, we explored the potential contribution of intrinsic brain activity to executive control by using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Using the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) as an index of spontaneous brain activity, we found that ALFF in the right precuneus (PCUN) and the medial part of left superior frontal gyrus (msFC) was significantly correlated with the efficiency of executive control processing. Crucially, the strengths of functional connectivity between the right PCUN/left msFC and distributed brain regions, including the left fusiform gyrus, right inferior frontal gyrus, left superior frontal gyrus and right precentral gyrus, were correlated with individual differences in executive performance. Together, the ALFF and functional connectivity accounted for 67% of the variability in behavioral performance. Moreover, the strength of functional connectivity between specific regions could predict more individual variability in executive control performance than regionally specific fluctuations. In conclusion, our findings suggest that spontaneous brain activity may reflect or underpin executive control of attention. It will provide new insights into the origins of inter-individual variability in human executive control processing.
注意力的执行控制调节着我们的思维、情绪和行为。执行控制的个体差异与大脑活动中与任务相关的差异有关。但尚不清楚注意力差异是否取决于内源性（静息状态）大脑活动，以及区域波动和功能连接在多大程度上导致执行控制过程中的个体差异。在此，我们通过使用静息态功能磁共振成像（fMRI）来探究内在大脑活动对执行控制的潜在贡献。以低频波动幅度（ALFF）作为自发大脑活动的指标，我们发现右侧楔前叶（PCUN）和左侧额上回内侧部分（msFC）的ALFF与执行控制处理效率显著相关。至关重要的是，右侧PCUN/左侧msFC与包括左侧梭状回、右侧额下回、左侧额上回和右侧中央前回在内的分布式脑区之间的功能连接强度与执行表现的个体差异相关。ALFF和功能连接共同解释了行为表现中67%的变异性。此外，特定区域之间的功能连接强度比区域特异性波动能预测更多执行控制表现中的个体变异性。总之，我们的研究结果表明，自发大脑活动可能反映或支撑着注意力的执行控制。这将为人类执行控制过程中个体差异的起源提供新的见解。
