Navigating the link between processing speed and network communication in the human brain | SpringerLink

 Navigating the link between processing speed and network communication in the human brain | SpringerLink  https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00429-021-02241-8AbstractProcessing speed on cognitive tasks relies upon efficient communication between widespread regions of the brain. Recently, novel methods of quantifying network communication like ' navigation efficiency ' have emerged, which aim to be more biologically plausible compared to traditional shortest path length-based measures. However, it is still unclear whether there is a direct link between these communication measures and processing speed. We tested this relationship in forty-five healthy adults (27 females), where processing speed was defined as decision-making time and measured using drift rate from the hierarchical drift diffusion model. Communication measures were calculated from a graph theoretical analysis of the whole-brain structural connectome and of a task-relevant fronto-parietal structural subnetwork, using the large-scale Desikan –Killiany atlas. We found that faster processing speed on trials that require greater cognitive control are correlated with higher navigation efficiency (of both the whole-brain and the task-relevant subnetwork). In contrast, faster processing speed on trials that require more automatic processing are correlated with shorter path length within the task-relevant subnetwork. Our findings reveal that differences in the way communication is modelled between s...
Source: Intelligent Insights on Intelligence Theories and Tests (aka IQ's Corner) - Category: Neuroscience Source Type: blogs