Task-induced activation transmitted by structural connectivity is associated with behavioral performance.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Brain Imaging

Background:

• Brain structure, particularly structural connectivity (SC), is believed to determine regional brain function.
• Cortical areas with distinct functions exhibit unique SC patterns.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if SC can predict cortical activation responses during cognitive tasks.
• To explore the relationship between SC-based prediction accuracy, task load, and behavioral performance.
• To determine the role of specific functional networks, like the default mode network (DMN), in this relationship.

Main Methods:

• Utilized SC data from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) of 100 healthy adults from the Human Connectome Project (HCP).
• Predicted cortical activation responses for various cognitive tasks using SC data.
• Analyzed the correlation between predictive performance, task load (relational reasoning, N-back working memory), and behavioral outcomes.

Main Results:

• SC successfully predicted cortical activation responses, with performance varying across tasks.
• Predictive performance correlated with task load and was positively associated with behavioral performance.
• The default mode network (DMN) showed a dominant role in both activation prediction and behavioral performance.

Conclusions:

• Structural connectivity is a feasible tool for estimating cognitive task-evoked brain activations.
• Findings provide strong evidence for the relevance of brain structure to function.
• Individual differences in task engagement may influence the accuracy of predicted activation patterns.