Cognitive task information is transferred between brain regions via resting-state network topology

• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-01000-w
• Publication Date: 2017-10-12T20:26:23Z
• Authors: Takuya Ito; Kaustubh R. Kulkarni; Douglas H. Schultz; Ravi D. Mill; Richard H. Chen; Levi I. Solomyak; Michael W. Cole
• Keywords: Brain Mapping; Young Adult; Cognition; Science; Q; Neural Pathways; Brain; Humans; Female; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Article

AbstractResting-state network connectivity has been associated with a variety of cognitive abilities, yet it remains unclear how these connectivity properties might contribute to the neurocognitive computations underlying these abilities. We developed a new approach—information transfer mapping—to test the hypothesis that resting-state functional network topology describes the computational mappings between brain regions that carry cognitive task information. Here, we report that the transfer of diverse, task-rule information in distributed brain regions can be predicted based on estimated activity flow through resting-state network connections. Further, we find that these task-rule information transfers are coordinated by global hub regions within cognitive control networks. Activity flow over resting-state connections thus provides a large-scale network mechanism for cognitive task information transfer and global information coordination in the human brain, demonstrating the cognitive relevance of resting-state network topology.