Context-independent scaling of neural responses to task difficulty in the multiple-demand network.
Context-independent scaling of neural responses to task difficulty in the multiple-demand network.
复制标题
多需求网络中神经响应对任务难度的上下文无关缩放。
DOI：
10.1093/cercor/bhac479
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发表时间：
2023
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Egner,Tobias
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Wen,Tanya;Egner,Tobias
多需求（MD）网络对认知需求的许多方面都很敏感，在更困难的任务中表现出更高的激活。然而，目前尚不清楚MD网络是否受到任务难度所经历的上下文的调制。使用功能性磁共振成像，我们研究了MD网络的反应，低，中，高难度的算术问题在2个线索的情况下，一个容易与困难的设置。结果表明，MD活动的变化可靠的绝对困难的问题，独立的上下文中提出的问题。同样，任务执行过程中的MD活动与先前试验的难度无关。表征相似性分析进一步支持MD网络中的表征距离与上下文无关代码一致。最后，我们确定了MD网络之外的几个区域，这些区域显示出上下文相关的编码，包括顶下小叶、中央旁小叶、后额叶和视觉皮层的大区域。总之，认知努力是由MD网络以上下文无关的方式处理的。我们认为，这种绝对编码的认知需求在MD网络反映了有限的范围内的任务难度，可以支持的认知装置。
The multiple-demand (MD) network is sensitive to many aspects of cognitive demand, showing increased activation with more difficult tasks. However, it is currently unknown whether the MD network is modulated by the context in which task difficulty is experienced. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we examined MD network responses to low, medium, and high difficulty arithmetic problems within 2 cued contexts, an easy versus a hard set. The results showed that MD activity varied reliably with the absolute difficulty of a problem, independent of the context in which the problem was presented. Similarly, MD activity during task execution was independent of the difficulty of the previous trial. Representational similarity analysis further supported that representational distances in the MD network were consistent with a context-independent code. Finally, we identified several regions outside the MD network that showed context-dependent coding, including the inferior parietal lobule, paracentral lobule, posterior insula, and large areas of the visual cortex. In sum, a cognitive effort is processed by the MD network in a context-independent manner. We suggest that this absolute coding of cognitive demand in the MD network reflects the limited range of task difficulty that can be supported by the cognitive apparatus.