Egan Max K, Costines Cyril, D'Esposito Mark, Sadaghiani Sepideh
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States.
Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, Urbana, IL, United States.
Imaging Neurosci (Camb). 2024 Apr 8;2. doi: 10.1162/imag_a_00124. eCollection 2024.
It is increasingly recognized that cognitive control requires integration across large-scale brain networks anchored in frontal and parietal cortices. While the functional role of individual networks has been studied extensively, their cross-network interactions in the service of cognitive control are poorly understood. Beyond in-the-moment regulation of goal-relevant information processing (e.g., of sensory information), cognitive control encompasses preparatory processes in anticipation of upcoming stimuli and actions. Such preparatory control is often endogenous, that is, it is based on internal representations without relying on external cues or events. Here, we assessed network interactions that support such endogenously driven preparatory control. We recorded fMRI (N = 25) during a perceptual decision task with highly variable intertrial intervals. In half of the blocks, trial onset was cued, while in the remaining blocks, participants maintained readiness without relying on cues. We studied endogenous preparatory control in the intertrial period preceding uncued (vs. cued) trials. Behavioral outcomes confirmed heavier cognitive control demands in the uncued condition. Endogenous preparatory control was associated with increased activity of the dorsal attention network (DAN). This contrasted with in-the-moment control over stimulus-response processing during the trial itself, which was supported foremost by the right-hemispheric fronto-parietal network (FPN). Cross-network interactions were strengthened exclusively during endogenous preparatory control; the default mode network (DMN) showed more positive connectivity with the DAN and to a lesser degree the cingulo-opercular network (CON). Our results demonstrate that cross-networks interactions are particularly important for endogenously driven preparatory control. They further suggest that the DMN may be implicated in internally harnessing resources for cognitive control. This notion extends the DMN's known role in internally-oriented processing to the domain of cognitive control when preparation cannot be aided by external events.
人们越来越认识到，认知控制需要整合以额叶和顶叶皮质为基础的大规模脑网络。虽然单个网络的功能作用已得到广泛研究，但它们在服务于认知控制方面的跨网络相互作用却知之甚少。除了对目标相关信息处理（如感觉信息）的即时调节外，认知控制还包括对即将到来的刺激和行动的准备过程。这种准备性控制通常是内源性的，即它基于内部表征，不依赖外部线索或事件。在此，我们评估了支持这种内源性驱动的准备性控制的网络相互作用。我们在一个具有高度可变试次间隔的知觉决策任务中记录了功能磁共振成像（N = 25）。在一半的组块中，试次开始有提示，而在其余组块中，参与者在不依赖提示的情况下保持准备状态。我们研究了无提示（与有提示）试次之前的试次间期内的内源性准备性控制。行为结果证实了无提示条件下更高的认知控制需求。内源性准备性控制与背侧注意网络（DAN）的活动增加有关。这与试次本身对刺激 - 反应处理的即时控制形成对比，后者主要由右半球额顶网络（FPN）支持。跨网络相互作用仅在内源性准备性控制期间增强；默认模式网络（DMN）与DAN以及在较小程度上与扣带回 - 脑岛网络（CON）表现出更强的正连接性。我们的结果表明，跨网络相互作用对于内源性驱动的准备性控制尤为重要。它们还进一步表明，DMN可能参与了为认知控制在内部调配资源。这一概念将DMN在内部导向处理中的已知作用扩展到了无法借助外部事件进行准备时的认知控制领域。
