Jimura K, Hirose S, Kunimatsu A, Ohtomo K, Koike Y, Konishi S
Department of Physiology, The University of Tokyo School of Medicine, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan; Precision and Intelligence Laboratory, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuta-cho, Midori-ku, Yokohama 226-8503, Japan; Department of Physiology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8421, Japan.
Department of Physiology, The University of Tokyo School of Medicine, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan; Department of Physiology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8421, Japan.
Neuroscience. 2014 Aug 22;274:383-92. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2014.05.058. Epub 2014 Jun 6.
Previous neuroimaging studies of response inhibition have examined correlations between behavioral efficiency and brain activity, but the temporal stability of the correlations has largely been ignored. The present functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study demonstrates the temporal changes of the brain activity associated with performance efficiency that led to more robust brain-behavior correlations in a later part of the experimental sessions. Participants performed a stop-signal task requiring inhibition of inappropriate responses, where more efficient behavioral performance is reflected in a shorter stop-signal reaction time (SSRT). Among across-subject negative correlations between the brain activity and the SSRT, the majority of the negative correlations were observed in the second half of experimental sessions. In the cerebellar region that showed the greatest difference in correlations between the second and the first halves, the brain activity increased in efficient performers, whereas the brain activity decreased in poor performers. These results suggest the existence of multiple brain mechanisms that increase and decrease the brain activity depending on the behavioral efficiency of the performers. More practically, these results indicate that robust brain-behavior correlations can more effectively be detected in a later part of the experimental sessions.
