Task-sensitive reconfiguration of corticocortical 6-20 Hz oscillatory coherence in naturalistic human performance

Electrophysiological oscillatory coherence between brain regions has been proposed to facilitate functional long-range connectivity within neurocognitive networks. This notion is supported by intracortical recordings of coherence in singled-out corticocortical connections in the primate cortex. However, the manner in which this operational principle manifests in the task-sensitive connectivity that supports human naturalistic performance remains undercharacterized. Here, we demonstrate task-sensitive reconfiguration of global patterns of coherent connectivity in association with a set of easier and more demanding naturalistic tasks, ranging from picture comparison to speech comprehension and object manipulation. Based on whole-cortex neuromagnetic recording in healthy behaving individuals, the task-sensitive component of long-range corticocortical coherence was mapped at spectrally narrow-band oscillatory frequencies between 6 and 20 Hz (theta to alpha and low-beta bands). This data-driven cortical mapping unveiled markedly distinct and topologically task-relevant spatiospectral connectivity patterns for the different tasks. The results demonstrate semistable oscillatory states relevant for neurocognitive processing. The present findings decisively link human behavior to corticocortical coherence at oscillatory frequencies that are widely thought to convey long-range, feedback-type neural interaction in cortical functional networks.