Alterations in resting-state activity relate to performance in a verbal recognition task.

In the brain, resting-state activity refers to non-random patterns of intrinsic activity occurring when participants are not actively engaged in a task. We monitored resting-state activity using electroencephalogram (EEG) both before and after a verbal recognition task. We show a strong positive correlation between accuracy in verbal recognition and pre-task resting-state alpha power at posterior sites. We further characterized this effect by examining resting-state post-task activity. We found marked alterations in resting-state alpha power when comparing pre- and post-task periods, with more pronounced alterations in participants that attained higher task accuracy. These findings support a dynamical view of cognitive processes where patterns of ongoing brain activity can facilitate -or interfere- with optimal task performance.

Citation

Rocío A López Zunini, Jean-Philippe Thivierge, Shanna Kousaie, Christine Sheppard, Vanessa Taler. Alterations in resting-state activity relate to performance in a verbal recognition task. PloS one. 2013;8(6):e65608

Mesh Tags

PMID: 23785436

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