Cognitive ability, arousal, and synchronization of brain networks

Poster Session B - Sunday, April 14, 2024, 8:00 – 10:00 am EDT, Sheraton Hall ABC

Jason S. Tsukahara¹ (jason.tsukahara@gatech.edu), Dolly T. Seeburger¹, Shella D. Keilholz¹, Eric H. Schumacher¹, Randall W. Engle¹; ¹Georgia Institute of Technology

A crucial aspect of optimal cognitive functioning involves the coordination of neural activity across large-scale brain networks. Notably, a study (Majeed et al., 2011) has unveiled periodic low-frequency fluctuations characterized by an anti-correlation between the default mode network and the dorsal attention network. Employing a novel technique, the Quasi-Periodic Pattern, we discovered that periodic low-frequency fluctuations in the fronto-parietal control network shifts from synchronizing with the default-mode network at rest, to synchronizing with the dorsal attention network during a cognitively demanding task. Moreover, the synchronization of these brain networks was found to be related to high state-level performance and trait-level attention control ability. Despite these findings, the underlying mechanisms governing these low-frequency fluctuations remain unclear. Prior research (Raut et al., 2021) has proposed a potential link between these fluctuations, arousal, the locus coeruleus-norepinephrine system, and cognitive abilities (Tsukahara & Engle, 2021). In this study, we investigate how low-frequency fluctuations in these brain networks are related to activity in the locus coeruleus, state-level indicators of arousal and performance, and to higher-order trait-level cognitive abilities.

Topic Area: EXECUTIVE PROCESSES: Working memory