Abstract

During performance of attention-demanding cognitive tasks, certain regions of the brain routinely increase activity, whereas others routinely decrease activity. In this study, we investigate the extent to which this task-related dichotomy is represented intrinsically in the resting human brain through examination of spontaneous fluctuations in the functional MRI blood oxygen level-dependent signal. We identify two diametrically opposed, widely distributed brain networks on the basis of both spontaneous correlations within each network and anticorrelations between networks. One network consists of regions routinely exhibiting task-related activations and the other of regions routinely exhibiting task-related deactivations. This intrinsic organization, featuring the presence of anticorrelated networks in the absence of overt task performance, provides a critical context in which to understand brain function. We suggest that both task-driven neuronal responses and behavior are reflections of this dynamic, ongoing, functional organization of the brain.

Keywords

Context (archaeology)NeuroscienceDynamic functional connectivityTask (project management)Human brainBrain functionBrain activity and meditationCognitionFunctional connectivityDefault mode networkBrain mappingFunctional magnetic resonance imagingFunction (biology)Blood-oxygen-level dependentPsychologyNerve netComputer scienceElectroencephalographyBiology

Affiliated Institutions

Related Publications

Publication Info

Year
2005
Type
article
Volume
102
Issue
27
Pages
9673-9678
Citations
8651
Access
Closed

External Links

View on DOI.org

Social Impact

Altmetric
PlumX Metrics

Social media, news, blog, policy document mentions

Citation Metrics

8651
OpenAlex

Cite This

Michael Fox, Abraham Z. Snyder, Justin L. Vincent et al. (2005). The human brain is intrinsically organized into dynamic, anticorrelated functional networks. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , 102 (27) , 9673-9678. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0504136102

Identifiers

DOI
10.1073/pnas.0504136102