Cognitive Mode Detectable with Task-Based fMRI: Initiation (INIT)

In the context of task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), cognitive modes can be defined as task-general cognitive/sensory/motor processes which 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 initiation (INIT), an early-trial peaking cognitive mode. The task-induced BOLD signal changes associated with INIT are modulated by a range of tasks, and we present five here. For each task, we report: (1) highly specific pattern-based (as opposed to coordinate-based) anatomical details essential for distinguishing INIT from other BOLD-based cognitive modes, and (2) task-induced BOLD signal changes associated with INIT across a range of task conditions. In order to facilitate recognition, we nick-named the anatomical patterns specific to INIT as follows: (1) Raised Eyebrows, (2) De Divina Proportione Front Guy, and (3) When I’m 64. Evidence for INIT was derived from the timing and magnitude of task-induced BOLD signal changes for following tasks: verbal working memory (three versions), spatial working memory, and thought generation. Inspection of the task-induced BOLD signal changes associated with INIT, over the range of tasks mentioned above, and compared to similar modes such as multiple demand (MD), consistently supported the cognitive mode interpretation of restarting/initiating cognitive processes involving visual stimuli after brief, undemanding periods following a series of cognitive operations.