PLoS ONE (Jan 2011)

Task-induced deactivation from rest extends beyond the default mode brain network.

  • Ben J Harrison,
  • Jesus Pujol,
  • Oren Contreras-Rodríguez,
  • Carles Soriano-Mas,
  • Marina López-Solà,
  • Joan Deus,
  • Hector Ortiz,
  • Laura Blanco-Hinojo,
  • Pino Alonso,
  • Rosa Hernández-Ribas,
  • Narcís Cardoner,
  • José M Menchón

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0022964
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 6, no. 7
p. e22964

Abstract

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Activity decreases, or deactivations, of midline and parietal cortical brain regions are routinely observed in human functional neuroimaging studies that compare periods of task-based cognitive performance with passive states, such as rest. It is now widely held that such task-induced deactivations index a highly organized 'default-mode network' (DMN): a large-scale brain system whose discovery has had broad implications in the study of human brain function and behavior. In this work, we show that common task-induced deactivations from rest also occur outside of the DMN as a function of increased task demand. Fifty healthy adult subjects performed two distinct functional magnetic resonance imaging tasks that were designed to reliably map deactivations from a resting baseline. As primary findings, increases in task demand consistently modulated the regional anatomy of DMN deactivation. At high levels of task demand, robust deactivation was observed in non-DMN regions, most notably, the posterior insular cortex. Deactivation of this region was directly implicated in a performance-based analysis of experienced task difficulty. Together, these findings suggest that task-induced deactivations from rest are not limited to the DMN and extend to brain regions typically associated with integrative sensory and interoceptive processes.