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Abstract #2318

Multi-scale assessment of brain network response to sustained working memory task

Daniele Mascali1, Silvia Tommasin1,2, Marta Moraschi1, Tommaso Gili1,3, Ibrahim Eid Assan4, Michela Fratini3, Richard G. Wise5, Silvia Mangia6, Emiliano Macaluso7, and Federico Giove1,3

1Centro Fermi - Museo storico della fisica e Centro di studi e ricerche Enrico Fermi, Rome, Italy, 2Dipartimento di Neurologia e Psichiatria, Sapienza Università di Roma, Roma, Italy, 3Fondazione Santa Lucia IRCCS, Roma, Italy, 4Dipartimento di Fisica, Sapienza Università di Roma, Roma, Italy, 5Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), Cardiff, United Kingdom, 6Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States, 7ImpAct Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Lyon, France

How low-frequency BOLD fluctuations (LFFs) are modulated when the brain is engaged in processing external stimuli is still poorly described. We exploited a non-conventional, long-lasting, block-design paradigm to study LFF modulations during sustained performance of a working memory task. Task-associated modulations were characterized by increased synchronization between networks at the expense of reduced within-network coherence. Such pattern persisted at several spatial scales, indicating a scale-invariant feature of task-associated modulations. Despite such clear-cut network behavior, no linear correlation between performance and connectivity changes was observed. Contrarily, high levels of connectivity at task and especially at rest were associated with greater performance.

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