Biology subjects

Cabeza, R.

Publications and source records attributed to Cabeza, R..

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Understanding the mechanisms of lateral parietalmemory modulation in Mild Cognitive Impairment

The application of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to lateral parietal cortex has shown promise in improving episodic memory in older adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Previous work has suggested that such improvements are achieved by activating hippocampus at a distance with TMS, though this explanation is incomplete. We hypothesized that the mnemonic benefits arise from an additional mechanism: the modulation of semantic representations. Nineteen participants with amnestic MCI received either active intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS) to angular gyrus or control vertex stimulation over three consecutive days while viewing object stimuli and completing relational memory encoding tasks during fMRI, followed by conceptual and perceptual recognition memory tests. We found that active TMS (relative to control TMS) significantly modulated conceptual memory performance. Using Representational Similarity Analysis with semantic embeddings derived from a large language model, we examined how TMS affects neural representations in inferior parietal lobule and hippocampus. We found that TMS enhanced semantic representational strength in inferior parietal lobule and reduced representational strength in hippocampus. Surprisingly, both effects supported successful memory. Neural pattern similarity analyses suggested that reduced hippocampal similarity supported successful memory, perhaps by promoting pattern separation mechanisms. These findings demonstrate that parietal TMS modulates semantic processing in a region-specific manner, by strengthening semantic integration at the stimulation site while promoting representational differentiation in medial temporal regions. This work advances our mechanistic understanding of memory neuromodulation and has implications for the optimization of therapeutic interventions in age-related memory disorders. Significance StatementTranscranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) applied to parietal cortex can improve memory in patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), a population at high risk for Alzheimers Disease, yet the mechanisms underlying this benefit remain poorly understood. Using fMRI and Representational Similarity Analysis (RSA), we examined how TMS alters the neural representation of semantic stimulus information in parietal cortex and hippocampus during memory encoding. Our results show that TMS selectively modulates semantic representations at the stimulation site and in hippocampus, and that these representational changes predict memory improvement. These findings advance our mechanistic understanding of parietal memory neuromodulation and lay the groundwork for more targeted and effective TMS-based interventions for age-related memory disorders.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2026

White-matter connectivity shapes visual and semantic representations in the aging brain

Multiple lines of evidence indicate that aging is associated with a reduction in the quality of sensory information coupled with increased reliance on semantic information. Consistent with this evidence, functional MRI studies have repeatedly found that, compared to younger adults, older adults show weaker visual representations but stronger semantic representations. However, the factors that engender this visuo-semantic representational shift (VSRS) remain unclear. Here, we test whether structural connectivity within the representational network predicts these shifts. In the face of typical age-related declines in visual memory and structural connectivity, we find that structural connectivity (i) mediates age-related decline in perceptual representation, and (ii) supports semantic and perceptual mnemonic representations in older adults. These findings outline a potential mechanism of age-related perceptual processing declines and highlight the adaptability of the memory system with age.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2026

When knowledge interferes with perception: Neural mechanisms of the semantic amplification of visual false memory

Visual false memory refers to our tendency to falsely recognize novel stimuli that are visually similar to seen stimuli. Visual false memory also occurs when stimuli are meaningful, suggesting that semantic information interferes with the encoding of visual details. However, the neural mechanisms of this semantic interference effect are largely unknown. In the present fMRI study, participants were scanned while encoding visually similar fonts presented with words (word-fonts) or pseudowords (pseudoword-fonts), and later, when recognizing old, new similar (lures), and new dissimilar (novel) fonts displayed in the same meaningless letter string. We performed (1) representational similarity analysis (RSA) at encoding to identify visual, visuosemantic, and semantic representations associated with subsequent visual true and false font recognition, (2) encoding-retrieval similarity (ERS) analysis to assess their reinstatement during retrieval, and (3) mediational analyses to examine hippocampal contributions. The study yielded three main findings. First, visuosemantic representations supported true font recognition when stored in right fusiform gyrus, but false recognition of word-fonts when stored in the left fusiform gyrus. Second, mirroring this pattern, reinstatement in right fusiform gyrus was associated with true font recognition, whereas reinstatement in left fusiform gyrus was linked to false recognition of word-fonts. Finally, posterior hippocampal activation reduced false font memory mainly for pseudoword-associated fonts via decreased reinstatement in perceptual regions, while anterior hippocampal activity increased false memory of word-fonts via enhanced reinstatement in semantic regions. Taken together, these findings reveal how distinct hippocampal-cortical pathways differentially bias memory towards perceptual specificity or semantic generalization. Significance StatementFalse memories are often triggered by visual similarity, but this study shows that meaning encoded during learning can distort memory for visual details, even when retrieval cues are meaningless. Participants learned fonts associated with words or pseudowords and judged whether similar lure fonts, shown on a meaningless letter string, were seen before. Although behavioral performance was similar across conditions, brain imaging revealed a key dissociation: the left fusiform gyrus and anterior hippocampus promote semantic generalization that increases false recognition, whereas the right fusiform gyrus and posterior hippocampus support perceptual specificity that protects against it. These findings reveal how distinct hippocampal-cortical pathways differentially bias memory toward truth or illusion.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2026

From Sensory Details to Verbal Codes: Visual Memory Reinstatement of Location and Color Features

Successful episodic memory depends on the reinstatement of encoding content and processes during retrieval. However, it remains unclear how such reinstatement (1) differs for various perceptual features, (2) supports subjective versus objective memory retrieval, and (3) relies on linguistic information. To investigate these three issues, we designed an fMRI study in which participants encoded and recalled the colors and spatial locations of object pictures, and provided subjective vividness and objective precision measures. We used encoding-retrieval similarity (ERS) to identify feature-level reinstatement for location or color features, and trial-specific reinstatement for individual location trials or individual color trials. The study yielded three main findings. First, feature-level reinstatement in frontoparietal and visual regions supported both location and color memory, whereas trial-specific reinstatement in early visual cortex contributed to location memory and feature-level reinstatement in lateral/anterior temporal cortices, to color memory. Second, trial-specific reinstatement in early visual cortex supported both location vividness and precision, while feature-level reinstatement in inferior frontal gyrus contributed to color vividness, and trial-specific reinstatement in posterior inferior temporal gyrus (including the color area), to color precision. Finally, color name richness (the number of names associated with a particular color) enhanced color memory precision and modulated trial-specific color reinstatement in right anterior inferior temporal gyrus. Together, these findings suggest that perceptual and linguistic reinstatement play complementary roles in visual episodic memory: perceptual replay provides fine-grained sensory details, whereas linguistic replay can scaffold and refine these representations, especially for features that are easier to verbalize such as colors. Significance StatementNeural reinstatement has been associated with the quality of episodic memory for complex visual images. However, it remains unclear how neural reinstatement varies across perceptual features, memory subjectivity, and linguistic accessibility. Here, we examine how neural reinstatement supports memory for color and location, whether it plays different roles in memory vividness versus precision, and the role of language in color memory. We showed that location memory relies primarily on trial-specific reinstatement in early visual cortex, supporting precise and vivid recall, whereas color memory is supported by a more complex and complementary interplay between perceptual and linguistic reinstatement. Together, these results advance our understanding of how distinct reinstatement mechanisms support the precision and vividness of episodic memory for basic visual features.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

Mapping concept and relational semantic representation in the brain using large language models

How the brain organizes semantic information is one of the most challenging and expansive questions in cognitive neuroscience. To shed light on this issue, prior studies have attempted to decode how the brain represents concepts. We instead examined how relational information is encoded, which we pursued by submitting texts to a contemporary large language model and extracting relational embeddings from the model. Using behavioral data (N = 636), we found these embeddings capture independent information about scenes and objects, along with relational information on their semantic links. Turning to fMRI data (N = 60), we leveraged these embeddings for representational similarity analysis: The occipitotemporal cortex represents concepts in isolation, whereas the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia principally encode relational information. Relational coding within prefrontal and striatal areas also tracks how participants reason about scenes and objects. Altogether, this research maps how information progresses from concept-level to integrative forms and how this translates into behavior.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

Trial-Level Representational Similarity Analysis

Neural representation refers to the brain activity that stands in for ones cognitive experience, and in cognitive neuroscience, a prominent method of studying neural representations is representational similarity analysis (RSA). While there are several recent advances in RSA, the classic RSA (cRSA) approach examines the structure of representations across numerous items by assessing the correspondence between two representational similarity matrices (RSMs): usually one based on a theoretical model of stimulus similarity and the other based on similarity in measured neural data. However, because cRSA cannot weigh the contributions of individual trials (RSM rows/columns), it is fundamentally limited in its ability to assess subject-, stimulus-, and trial-level variances that all influence representation. Here, we formally introduce trial-level RSA (tRSA), an analytical framework that estimates the strength of neural representation for singular experimental trials and evaluates hypotheses using multi-level models. First, we verified the correspondence between tRSA and cRSA in quantifying the overall representation strength across all trials. Second, we compared the statistical inferences drawn from both approaches using simulated data that reflected a wide range of scenarios. Compared to cRSA, the multi-level framework of tRSA was both more theoretically appropriate and significantly sensitive to true effects. Third, using real fMRI datasets, we further demonstrated several issues with cRSA, to which tRSA was more robust. Finally, we presented some novel findings of neural representations that could only be assessed with tRSA and not cRSA. In summary, tRSA proves to be a robust and versatile analytical approach for cognitive neuroscience and beyond.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

Intrinsic fluctuations in global connectivity reflect transitions between states of high and low prediction error

While numerous researchers claim that the minimization of prediction error (PE) is a general force underlying most brain functions, others argue instead that PE minimization drives low-level, sensory-related neuronal computations but not high-order, abstract cognitive operations. We investigated this issue using behavioral, fMRI, and EEG data. Studies 1A/1B examined semantic- and reward-processing PE using task-fMRI, yielding converging evidence of PEs global effects on large-scale connectivity: high-PE states broadly upregulated ventral-dorsal connectivity, and low-PE states upregulated posterior-anterior connectivity. Investigating whether these global patterns characterize cognition generally, Studies 2A/2B used resting-state fMRI and showed that individuals continuously fluctuate between ventral-dorsal (high-PE) and posterior-anterior (low-PE) dynamic connectivity states. Additionally, individual differences in PE task responses track differences in resting-state fluctuations, further endorsing that these fluctuations represent PE minimization at rest. Finally, Study 3 combined fMRI and EEG data, and the study found that the fMRI fluctuation amplitude correlates most strongly with EEG power at 3-6 Hz, consistent with the PE network fluctuations occurring at Delta/Theta oscillation speeds. This whole-brain layout and timeline together are consistent with high/low-PE fluctuations playing a role in integrative and general sub-second cognitive operations.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

Local and distributed information coding in the ventral stream

Neuroscience is replete with evidence that cognitive representations are distributed across many cortical regions. Yet, the scale and content of such distributed processing is unclear. Do findings of widespread information coding suggest a large-scale "forest" of regions interacting to represent information or instead imply a multitude of small-scale trees, processing information as localized modules. To investigate this distinction, we used visual and semantic representational analysis of fMRI data from 60 participants viewing everyday objects in multiple task contexts, and we examined the relationships between regions in terms of information coding. We demonstrate that coding of visual content in the occipital lobe is overwhelmingly modular, such that different occipital structures show limited coordination and tend to encode information redundantly. By contrast, the coding of semantic content in the inferior temporal lobe involves a high degree of coordination between regions, which optimize their coding to collectively represent a large semantic space with minimal redundancy between regions. No other brain area - neither the parietal nor prefrontal cortices - shows the preference for large-scale coding seen in the inferior temporal lobe. Taken together, these results outline a framework of how the ventral stream transitions from small-scale to large-scale coding as information progresses from visual to semantic representations. Significance statementHow does the brain convert incoming signals into usable information? Many studies have investigated this question by attempting to clarify which brain regions encode what information (e.g., V4 encodes color information). We instead aimed to shed light on the degree of coordination among information coding regions. We find that the visual-to-semantic transition as information flows anteriorly in the occipitotemporal cortex is accompanied by a shift from modular to distributed coding. That is, occipital regions encode perceptual information relatively independently with redundancy, while inferior temporal lobe regions cooperate to most efficiently represent a large space of semantic information. By leveraging ideas from information theory, our work introduces coding scale as a new dimension for understanding the architecture of information coding.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2024

Semantic Dimensions Support the Cortical Representation of Object Memorability

Recent work in vision sciences contends that objects carry an intrinsic property, memorability, that describes the likelihood that an object can be successfully encoded and later retrieved from memory. It has been shown that object memorability is supported by semantic information, but the neural correlates involved are largely unexplored. The present study explores these premises and asks whether neural correlates of object memorability can be accounted for by semantic dimensions. To investigate these questions, we combine three datasets: (1) feature norms for a database of [~]1000 natural object images, (2) normative conceptual and perceptual memory data for those objects, and (3) neuroimaging data from an fMRI study collected using a subset (n=360) of those objects. We found that object-wise memorability elicits consistent brain activation across participants in key mnemonic regions (e.g., hippocampus and rhinal cortex), and that a substantial portion of the variance in this brain activity is mediated by the semantic factors describing these images. Regions with the strongest mediation effects are associated with sensory, motor, and visual processes, suggesting that the relationship between memorability and semantics may align with a sensory-functional account of the representation of concepts in the brain.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2024

Cortico-hippocampal interactions underlie schema-supported memory encoding in older adults

Although episodic memory is typically impaired in older adults (OAs) compared to young adults (YAs), this deficit is attenuated when OAs can leverage their rich semantic knowledge, such as their knowledge of schemas. Memory is better for items consistent with pre-existing schemas and this effect is larger in OAs. Neuroimaging studies have associated schema use with the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and hippocampus (HPC), but most of this research has been limited to YAs. This fMRI study investigated the neural mechanisms underlying how schemas boost episodic memory in OAs. Participants encoded scene-object pairs with varying congruency, and memory for the objects was tested the following day. Congruency with schemas enhanced object memory for YAs and, more substantially, for OAs. FMRI analyses examined how cortical modulation of HPC predicted subsequent memory. Congruency-related vmPFC modulation of left HPC enhanced subsequent memory in both age groups, while congruency-related modulation from angular gyrus (AG) boosted subsequent memory only in OAs. Individual differences in cortico-hippocampal modulations indicated that OAs preferentially used their semantic knowledge to facilitate encoding via an AG-HPC interaction, suggesting a compensatory mechanism. Collectively, our findings illustrate age-related differences in how schemas influence episodic memory encoding via distinct routes of cortico-hippocampal interactions.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2023

Creativity and memory: Cortical representational change along with amygdala activation predict the insight memory effect

Despite the need for innovative solutions to contemporary challenges, the neural mechanisms driving creative problem-solving, including representational change and its relation to memory, still remain largely unknown. We focused on the powerful creative process of insight, wherein rapid knowledge reorganisation and integration--termed representational change--yield solutions that evoke suddenness, certainty, positive emotion, and enduring memory. We posit that this process manifests as stronger shifts in activation patterns within brain regions housing solution-relevant information, including the visual cortex for visual problems, alongside regions linked to feelings of emotion, suddenness and subsequent memory. Our findings substantiate these hypotheses, revealing stronger representational changes in visual cortex, conjoined with activations in the amygdala and hippocampus--forming an interconnected network. Importantly, the representational change and hippocampal effects serve as predictive markers of subsequent memory. This study provides evidence of an integrated insight mechanism influencing memory. Implications extend to education, emphasising the significance of discovery-based learning approaches for boosting knowledge retention.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2022

Effects of aging on successful object encoding:Enhanced semantic representations compensate for impaired visual representations

Whereas episodic memory and visual processing decline substantially with healthy aging, semantic knowledge is generally spared. There is evidence that older adults can take advantage of their spared semantic knowledge to support their performance in episodic memory and visual tasks. Here, we used fMRI combined with representational similarity analyses (RSA) to examine how visual and semantic representations stored during encoding predict subsequent object memory. Young and older adults encoded images of objects during fMRI scanning and recalled these images while rating the vividness of their memories. After scanning, participants discriminated between studied images and similar lures. RSA based on a deep convolutional neural network and normative concept feature data was used to link patterns of neural activity during encoding to visual and semantic representations. The quality of visual representations was reduced in older adults, consistent with dedifferentiation, whereas the quality of semantic representations was enhanced in older adults, consistent with hyperdifferentiation. Despite dedifferentiation, visual representations stored in early visual cortex predicted later recall with high vividness in both young and older adults, with no age-related differences. In contrast, semantic representations in lingual and fusiform gyrus were associated with better subsequent object picture recall in older but not in young adults. This finding is consistent with evidence that older adults rely on semantic knowledge to compensate for cognitive deficits. Taken together, the results suggest that the age-related neural dedifferentiation for visual information in posterior regions might be partly counteracted by a boost on semantic representations in more anterior areas. Significance StatementPrevious research has shown that healthy aging tends to impair memory for individual events, visual processing, and other cognitive abilities but not semantic knowledge. We investigated the effects of aging on the quality of the information stored in the brain when viewing common objects and on how this information enables subsequent memory for these objects. Using fMRI combined with modeling of the stimuli, we found that visual information was degraded in older adults, but it was sufficient to support subsequent memory. In contrast, semantic information supported subsequent memory only in older adults. This is the first direct neuroscience evidence that older adults take advantage of spared semantic representations to boost their memory for individual events.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2022

Concurrent fMRI demonstrates propagation of TMS effects across task-related networks

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has become an important technique in both scientific and clinical practices, and yet our understanding of how the brain responds to TMS is still limited. Concurrent neuroimaging during TMS may bridge this gap, and emerging evidence suggests widespread that modulatory effects of TMS may be best captured through changes in functional connectivity between distributed networks, rather than local changes in cortical activity. However, the relationship between TMS stimulation parameters and evoked changes in functional connectivity is unknown. In this study, 24 healthy volunteers received concurrent TMS-fMRI while performing a dot-motion direction discrimination task. An MR-compatible coil was used to apply trains of three pulses at 10 Hz rTMS over the primary visual cortex (V1) at the onset of the dot stimuli with four levels of stimulation intensity (20%, 40%, 80%, and 120% of resting motor threshold, RMT). Behavioral results demonstrated impairment of motion discrimination at 80% RMT. FMRI results yielded three findings. First, functional connectivity between visual and non-visual areas increased as a function of rTMS intensity. Second, connectivity within the visual network was positively associated with motion accuracy, while the connectivity between visual and non-visual regions was negatively associated with motion accuracy. Lastly, we found that reductions in the similarity between functional and structural connectivity associated with increasing TMS intensity were constrained to the visual network. These findings demonstrate spatially dependent nonlinear effects of TMS intensity on brain functional connectivity that proceed beyond the site of stimulation and influence associated behavior.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

Age-related dedifferentiation and hyperdifferentiation of perceptual and mnemonic representations

Preliminary evidence indicates that occipito-temporal activation patterns for different visual stimuli are less distinct in older (OAs) than younger (YAs) adults, suggesting a dedifferentiation of visual representations with aging. Yet, it is unclear if this deficit (1) affects only sensory or also categorical aspects of representations during visual perception (perceptual representations), and (2) affects only perceptual or also mnemonic representations. To investigate these issues, we fMRI-scanned YAs and OAs viewing and then remembering visual scenes. First, using representational similarity analyses, we distinguished sensory vs. categorical features of perceptual representations. We found that, compared to YAs, sensory features in early visual cortex were less differentiated in OAs (i.e., age-related dedifferentiation), replicating previous research, whereas categorical features in anterior temporal lobe (ATL) were more differentiated in OAs. This is, to our knowledge, the first report of an age-related hyperdifferentiation. Second, we assessed the quality of mnemonic representations by measuring encoding-retrieval similarity (ERS) in activation patterns. We found that aging impaired mnemonic representations in early visual cortex and hippocampus but enhanced mnemonic representations in ATL. Thus, both perceptual and mnemonic representations in ATL were enhanced by aging. In sum, our findings suggest that aging impairs visual and mnemonic representations in posterior brain regions but enhances them in anterior regions.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

Dose-dependent enhancement of motion direction discrimination with transcranial magnetic stimulation of visual cortex

Despite the widespread use of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in research and clinical care, the underlying mechanisms-of-actions that mediate modulatory effects remain poorly understood. To fill this gap, we studied dose-response functions of TMS for modulation of visual processing. Our approach combined electroencephalography (EEG) with application of single pulse TMS to visual cortex as participants performed a motion perception task. During participants first visit, motion coherence thresholds, 64-channel visual evoked potentials (VEPs), and TMS resting motor thresholds (RMT) were measured. In second and third visits, single pulse TMS was delivered 30 ms before the onset of motion or at the onset latency of the N2 VEP component derived from the first session. TMS was delivered at 0%, 80%, 100%, or 120% of RMT over the site of N2 peak activity, or at 120% over vertex. Behavioral results demonstrated a significant main effect of TMS timing on accuracy, with better performance when TMS was applied at N2-Onset timing versus Pre-Onset, as well as a significant interaction, indicating that 80% intensity produced higher accuracy than other conditions. TMS effects on VEPs showed reduced amplitudes in the 80% Pre-Onset condition, an increase for the 120% N2-Onset condition, and monotonic amplitude scaling with stimulation intensity. The N2 component was not affected by TMS. These findings reveal dose-response relationships between intensity and timing of TMS on visual perception and electrophysiological brain activity, generally indicating greater facilitation at stimulation intensities below RMT.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

Visual and semantic representations predict subsequent memory in perceptual and conceptual memory tests

It is generally assumed that the encoding of a single event generates multiple memory representations, which contribute differently to subsequent episodic memory. We used fMRI and representational similarity analysis (RSA) to examine how visual and semantic representations predicted subsequent memory for single item encoding (e.g., seeing an orange). Three levels of visual representations corresponding to early, middle, and late visual processing stages were based on a deep neural network. Three levels of semantic representations were based on normative Observed ("is round"), Taxonomic ("is a fruit"), and Encyclopedic features ("is sweet"). We identified brain regions where each representation type predicted later Perceptual Memory, Conceptual Memory, or both (General Memory). Participants encoded objects during fMRI, and then completed both a word-based conceptual and picture-based perceptual memory test. Visual representations predicted subsequent Perceptual Memory in visual cortices, but also facilitated Conceptual and General Memory in more anterior regions. Semantic representations, in turn, predicted Perceptual Memory in visual cortex, Conceptual Memory in the perirhinal and inferior prefrontal cortex, and General Memory in the angular gyrus. These results suggest that the contribution of visual and semantic representations to subsequent memory effects depends on a complex interaction between representation, test type, and storage location.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2019

Age-related compensatory reconfiguration of PFC connections during episodic memory retrieval

During demanding cognitive tasks, older adults (OAs) frequently show greater prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity than younger adults (YAs). This age-related PFC activity increase is often associated with enhanced cognitive performance, suggesting functional compensation. However, the brain is a complex network of interconnected regions, and it is unclear how network connectivity of PFC regions differs for OAs vs. YAs. To investigate this, we examined the age-related difference in functional brain network mediating episodic memory retrieval. YAs and OAs participants encoded and then recalled visual scenes, and age-related differences in network topology during memory retrieval were investigated as a function of memory performance. We measured both quantitative changes in functional integration and qualitative reconfiguration in connectivity patterns. The study yielded three main findings. First, PFC regions were more functionally integrated with the rest of the brain network in OAs. Critically, this age-related increase in PFC integration was associated with better retrieval performance. Second, PFC regions showed stronger performance-related reconfiguration of connectivity patterns in OAs. Finally, the magnitude of PFC reconfiguration increases in OAs tracked reconfiguration reductions in the medial temporal lobe (MTL) - a core episodic memory region, suggesting that PFC connectivity in OAs may be compensating for MTL deficits.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2019

Structural controllability predicts functional patterns and neuromodulatory benefits associated with working memory

The brain is an inherently dynamic system, and much work has focused on the ability to modify neural activity through both local perturbations and changes in the function of global network ensembles. Network controllability is a recent concept in network science that purports to predict the influence of individual cortical sites on global network states and state changes, thereby creating a unifying account of local influences on global brain dynamics. Here, we present an integrated set of multimodal brain-behavior relationships, acquired from functional magnetic resonance imaging during a transcranial magnetic stimulation intervention, that demonstrate how network controllability influences network function, as well as behavior. This work helps to outline a clear technique for integrating structural network topology and functional activity to predict the influence of a potential stimulation target on subsequent behaviors and prescribes next steps towards predicting neuromodulatory and behavioral responses after brain stimulation.\n\nHighlights- This study tested the strength of network controllability using fMRI and rTMS\n- Controllability correlates with functional modulation of working memory demand load\n- Controllability is also correlated with the memory improvement from applied rTMS\n- These findings link network control theory with physiology and behavior.\n\n\nIn briefBeynel et al. show that the benefits of functionally targeted brain stimulation on working memory performance can be predicted by network control properties at the stimulated site. Structural controllability and functional activity independently predict this cognitive benefit.\n\nAuthor ContributionsConceptualization & Methodology: L.B, S.W.D., B.L., R.C., L.G.A.; Investigation: L.B., L.D., S.W.D., C.A.C., M.D., H.P., S.H.; Writing--Original Draft: L.B., L.D., S.W.D.; Writing--Review & Editing: L.B., L.D., S.W.D., L.G.A., A.V.P.; Funding Acquisition: S.W.D., R.C., B.L., S.H.L., A.V.P.; Resources: L.G.A., B.L., R.C.; Supervision: L.G.A., S.W.D.

neuroscience↗