Spontaneous neuronal activity predicts intersubject variations in executive control of attention.
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.
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.
J
J
Xu
UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, London, United Kingdom; Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London (UCL) Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom.
G
G
Rees
Research Center for Sectional and Imaging Anatomy, Shandong University School of Medicine, Jinan, Shandong, China.
X
X
Yin
UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, London, United Kingdom.
C
C
Song
Department of Radiology, Affiliated Hospital of Medical College, Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong, China.
Y
Y
Han
Research Center for Sectional and Imaging Anatomy, Shandong University School of Medicine, Jinan, Shandong, China.
H
H
Ge
Department of Epidemiology, Qingdao Municipal Central for Disease Control and Prevention, Qingdao, Shandong, China.
Z
Z
Pang
Department of Radiology, Affiliated Hospital of Medical College, Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong, China.
W
W
Xu
Research Center for Sectional and Imaging Anatomy, Shandong University School of Medicine, Jinan, Shandong, China.
Y
Y
Tang
Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London (UCL) Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom.
K
K
Friston
Research Center for Sectional and Imaging Anatomy, Shandong University School of Medicine, Jinan, Shandong, China. Electronic address: liusw@sdu.edu.cn.
S
S
Liu
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000502:physiology*; D012737:Sex Factors; D055815:Young Adult
ALFF; executive control; functional connectivity; resting-state fMRI