Cognitive Mode Detectable with Task-Based fMRI: Auditory Attention for Response (AAR)

In the context of task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), cognitive modes can be defined as task-general cognitive/sensory/motor processes that reliably elicit specific blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signal pattern configurations. A number of cognitive modes are detectable with task-based fMRI, and here we focus on auditory attention for response (AAR), a cognitive mode that can be activated or deactivated, depending on task design. The BOLD signal configurations associated with AAR are modulated by a range of tasks, and here we present ten. For each task, we report: (1) specific pattern-based (as opposed to coordinate-based) anatomical details essential for distinguishing AAR from other BOLD-based cognitive modes, and (2) task-induced BOLD signal changes associated with AAR over a range of task conditions. In order to facilitate recognition, we nick-named the anatomical patterns specific to AAR as follows: (1) Small Smile, (2) On Fire, (3) Happy 28th Birthday Long Face, and (4) Right Angle. Evidence for AAR was derived from the timing and magnitude of task-induced BOLD signal changes observed in the following tasks: social cognition, visuospatial memory, task switching, target detection, item recognition, sensorimotor, problem-solving, lexical decision, semantic association, and probabilistic reasoning. This evidence consistently supported the AAR cognitive mode involving auditory attention with the intention of responding when activated, and visual attention to stimulus features when deactivated.