Open AccessCommon deactivation patterns during working memory and visual attention tasks: An intra‐subject fMRI study at 4 Tesla
Author(s) -
Tomasi Dardo,
Ernst Thomas,
Caparelli Elisabeth C.,
Chang Linda
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
human brain mapping
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.005
H-Index - 191
eISSN - 1097-0193
pISSN - 1065-9471
DOI - 10.1002/hbm.20211
Subject(s) - functional magnetic resonance imaging , working memory , psychology , task (project management) , cognition , neuroscience , balance (ability) , elementary cognitive task , brain mapping , hum , blood oxygenation , cognitive psychology , art , management , performance art , economics , art history
This parametric functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study investigates the balance of negative and positive fMRI signals in the brain. A set of visual attention (VA) and working memory (WM) tasks with graded levels of difficulty was used to deactivate separate but overlapping networks that include the frontal, temporal, occipital, and limbic lobes; regions commonly associated with auditory and emotional processing. Brain activation (% signal change and volume) was larger for VA tasks than for WM tasks, but deactivation was larger for WM tasks. Load‐related increases of blood oxygenation level‐dependent (BOLD) responses for different levels of task difficulty cross‐correlated strongly in the deactivated network during VA but less so during WM. The variability of the deactivated network across different cognitive tasks supports the hypothesis that global cerebral blood flow vary across different tasks, but not between different levels of task difficulty of the same task. The task‐dependent balance of activation and deactivation might allow maximization of resources for the activated network. Hum Brain Mapp, 2005. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.