Lesions to the Fronto-Parietal Network Impact Alpha-Band Phase Synchrony and Cognitive Control

Sepideh Sadaghiani Friberg, Pascasie L. Dombert, Marianne Løvstad, Ingrid Funderud, Torstein R. Meling, Tor Endestad, Robert T. Knight, Anne Kristin Solbakk, Mark D'Esposito

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Long-range phase synchrony in the α-oscillation band (near 10 Hz) has been proposed to facilitate information integration across anatomically segregated regions. Which areas may top-down regulate such cross-regional integration is largely unknown. We previously found that the moment-to-moment strength of high-α band (10-12 Hz) phase synchrony co-varies with activity in a fronto-parietal (FP) network. This network is critical for adaptive cognitive control functions such as cognitive flexibility required during set-shifting. Using electroencephalography (EEG) in 23 patients with focal frontal lobe lesions (resected tumors), we tested the hypothesis that the FP network is necessary for modulation of high-α band phase synchrony. Global phase-synchrony was measured using an adaptation of the phase-locking value (PLV) in a sliding window procedure, which allowed for measurement of changes in EEG-based resting-state functional connectivity across time. As hypothesized, the temporal modulation (range and standard deviation) of high-α phase synchrony was reduced as a function of FP network lesion extent, mostly due to dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) lesions. Furthermore, patients with dlPFC lesions exhibited reduced cognitive flexibility as measured by the Trail-Making Test (set-shifting). Our findings provide evidence that the FP network is necessary for modulatory control of high-α band long-range phase synchrony, and linked to cognitive flexibility.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article numberbhy296
Pages (from-to)4143-4153
Number of pages11
JournalCerebral Cortex
Volume29
Issue number10
Early online dateDec 7 2018
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 13 2019

Keywords

  • alpha oscillations
  • cognitive flexibility
  • dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
  • fronto-parietal network
  • lesion

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Lesions to the Fronto-Parietal Network Impact Alpha-Band Phase Synchrony and Cognitive Control'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this