Takuya Ito

IBM Research - Thomas J. Watson Research Center

Resting-state network connectivity has been associated with a variety of cognitive abilities, yet it remains unclear how these connectivity properties might contribute to the neurocognitive computations underlying these abilities. We developed a new approach - information transfer mapping - to test the hypothesis that resting-state functional netwo...

Many studies have identified the role of localized and distributed cognitive functionality by mapping either local task-related activity or distributed functional connectivity (FC). However, few studies have directly explored the relationship between a brain region’s localized task activity and its distributed task FC. Here we systematically evalua...

Many large-scale functional connectivity studies have emphasized the importance of communication through increased inter-region correlations during task states. In contrast, local circuit studies have demonstrated that task states primarily reduce correlations among pairs of neurons, likely enhancing their information coding by suppressing shared s...

Humans have a remarkable ability to rapidly generalize to new tasks that is difficult to reproduce in artificial learning systems. Compositionality has been proposed as a key mechanism supporting generalization in humans, but evidence of its neural implementation and impact on behavior is still scarce. Here we study the computational properties ass...

Human cognition recruits distributed neural processes, yet the organizing computational and functional architectures remain unclear. Here, we characterized the geometry and topography of multitask representations across the human cortex using functional magnetic resonance imaging during 26 cognitive tasks in the same individuals. We measured the re...

The rapid development of modern artificial intelligence (AI) systems has created an urgent need for their scientific quantification. While their fluency across a variety of domains is impressive, modern AI systems fall short on tests requiring symbolic processing and abstraction - a glaring limitation given the necessity for interpretable and relia...

A central goal of neuroscience is to understand how function-relevant brain activations are generated. Here we test the hypothesis that function-relevant brain activations are generated primarily by distributed network flows. We focused on visual processing in human cortex, given the long-standing literature supporting the functional relevance of b...

Relational reasoning is the ability to infer and understand the relations between multiple elements. In humans, this ability supports higher cognitive functions and is linked to fluid intelligence. Relational complexity (RC) is a cognitive framework that offers a generalisable method for classifying the complexity of reasoning problems. To date, in...

State-dependent neural correlations can be understood from a neural coding framework. Noise correlations—trial-to-trial or moment-to-moment covariability—can be interpreted only if the underlying signal correlation—similarity of task selectivity between pairs of neural units—is known. Despite many investigations in local spiking circuits, it remain...

Relational reasoning refers to the ability to infer and understand the relations between multiple entities. In humans, this ability underpins many higher cognitive functions, such as problem solving and decision-making, and has been reliably linked to fluid intelligence. Despite machine learning models making impressive advances across various doma...

Brain activity flow models estimate the movement of task-evoked activity over brain connections to help explain network-generated task functionality. Activity flow models have been shown to accurately generate task-evoked brain activations across a wide variety of brain regions and task conditions. However, these models have had limited explanatory...

The brain is a complex system with dynamic network changes. Prior studies in theoretical neuroscience have demonstrated that state-dependent neural correlations can be understood from a neural coding framework. These so-called noise correlations - the trial-to-trial or moment-to-moment co-variability - can be interpreted only if the underlying sign...

A central goal of neuroscience is to understand how function-relevant brain activations are generated. Here we test the hypothesis that function-relevant brain activations are generated primarily by distributed network flows. We focused on visual processing in human cortex, given the long-standing literature supporting the functional relevance of b...

The human ability to adaptively implement a wide variety of tasks is thought to emerge from the dynamic transformation of cognitive information. We hypothesized that these transformations are implemented via conjunctive activations in “conjunction hubs”—brain regions that selectively integrate sensory, cognitive, and motor activations. We used rece...

A set of distributed cognitive control networks are known to contribute to diverse cognitive demands, yet it is unclear how these networks gain this domain-general capacity. We hypothesized that this capacity is largely due to the particular organization of the human brain's intrinsic network architecture. Specifically, we tested the possibility th...

Functional connectivity (FC) studies have predominantly focused on resting state, where ongoing dynamics are thought to reflect the brain’s intrinsic network architecture, which is thought to be broadly relevant because it persists across brain states (i.e., is state-general). However, it is unknown whether resting state is the optimal state for me...

Human cognition recruits diverse neural processes, yet the organizing computational and functional architectures remain unclear. Here, we characterized the geometry and topography of multi-task representations across human cortex using functional MRI during 26 cognitive tasks in the same subjects. We measured the representational similarity across...

Brain activity flow models estimate the movement of task-evoked activity over brain connections to help explain the emergence of task-related functionality. Activity flow estimates have been shown to accurately predict task-evoked brain activations across a wide variety of brain regions and task conditions. However, these predictions have had limit...

Functional connectivity (FC) studies have predominantly focused on resting state, where ongoing dynamics are thought to primarily reflect the brain's intrinsic network architecture, which is thought to be broadly relevant to brain function because it persists across brain states. However, it is unknown whether resting state is the optimal state for...

Resting-state functional connectivity has provided substantial insight into intrinsic brain network organization, yet the functional importance of task-related change from that intrinsic network organization remains unclear. Indeed, such task-related changes are known to be small, suggesting they may have only minimal functional relevance. Alternat...

A set of distributed cognitive control networks are known to contribute to diverse cognitive demands, yet it is unclear how these networks gain this domain-general capacity. We hypothesized that this capacity is largely due to the particular organization of the human brain's intrinsic network architecture. Specifically, we tested the possibility th...

The human ability to adaptively implement a wide variety of tasks is thought to emerge from the dynamic transformation of cognitive information. We hypothesized that these transformations are implemented via conjunctive representations in conjunction hubs – brain regions that selectively integrate sensory, cognitive, and motor representations. We u...

A wide variety of mental disorders have been associated with resting-state functional network alterations, which are thought to contribute to the cognitive changes underlying mental illness. These observations appear to support theories postulating large-scale disruptions of brain systems in mental illness. However, existing approaches isolate diff...

Functional connectivity studies have identified at least two large-scale neural systems that constitute cognitive control networks - the frontoparietal network (FPN) and cingulo-opercular network (CON). Control networks are thought to support goal-directed cognition and behavior. It was previously shown that the FPN flexibly shifts its global conne...

Resting-state functional connectivity has provided substantial insight into intrinsic brain network organization, yet the functional importance of task-related change from that intrinsic network organization remains unclear. Indeed, such task-related changes are known to be small, suggesting they may have only minimal functional relevance. Alternat...

Many studies have identified the role of localized and distributed cognitive functionality by mapping either local task-related activity or distributed functional connectivity (FC). However, few studies have directly explored the relationship between a brain region’s localized task activity and its distributed task FC. Here we systematically evalua...

Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) is used as a noninvasive tool for cognitive enhancement and clinical applications. The physiological effects of tACS, however, are complex and poorly understood. Most studies of tACS focus on its ability to entrain brain oscillations, but our behavioral results in humans and extracellular recordin...

Understanding neurocognitive computations will require not just localizing cognitive information distributed throughout the brain but also determining how that information got there. We review recent advances in linking empirical and simulated brain network organization with cognitive information processing. Building on these advances, we offer a n...

Functional connectivity studies have identified at least two large-scale neural systems that constitute cognitive control networks – the frontoparietal network (FPN) and cingulo-opercular network (CON). Control networks are thought to support goal-directed cognition and behavior. It was previously shown that the FPN flexibly shifts its global conne...

Understanding neurocognitive computations will require not just localizing cognitive information distributed throughout the brain but also determining how that information got there. We review recent advances in linking (empirical and simulated) brain network organization with cognitive information processing. Building on these advances, we offer a...

Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) is used as a non-invasive tool for cognitive enhancement and clinical applications. The physiological effects of tACS, however, are complex and poorly understood (Liu et al. 2018). Most studies of tACS focus on its ability to entrain brain oscillations (Herrmann et al. 2013), but our behavioral re...

Many studies of large-scale neural systems have emphasized the importance of communication through increased inter-region correlations ("functional connectivity") during task states relative to resting state. In contrast, local circuit studies have demonstrated that task states reduce correlations among local neural populations, likely enhancing th...

Most neuroscientific studies have focused on task-evoked activations (activity amplitudes at specific brain locations), providing limited insight into the functional relationships between separate brain locations. Task-state functional connectivity (FC) - statistical association between brain activity time series during task performance moves beyon...

Much of our lives are spent in unconstrained rest states, yet cognitive brain processes are primarily investigated using task-constrained states. It may be possible to utilize the insights gained from experimental control of task processes as reference points for investigating unconstrained rest. To facilitate comparison of rest and task functional...

We all vary in our mental health, even among people not meeting diagnostic criteria for mental illness. Understanding this individual variability may reveal factors driving the risk for mental illness, as well as factors driving subclinical problems that still adversely affect quality of life. To better understand the large-scale brain network mech...

We all vary in our mental health, even among people not meeting diagnostic criteria for mental illness. Understanding this individual variability may reveal factors driving the risk for mental illness, as well as factors driving sub-clinical problems that still adversely affect quality of life. To better understand the large-scale brain network mec...

Resting-state network connectivity has been associated with a variety of cognitive abilities, yet it remains unclear how these connectivity properties might contribute to the neurocognitive computations underlying these abilities. We developed a new approach – information transfer mapping – to test the hypothesis that resting-state functional netwo...

Much of our lives are spent in unconstrained rest states, yet cognitive brain processes are primarily investigated using task-constrained states. It may be possible to utilize the insights gained from experimental control of task processes as reference points for investigating unconstrained rest. To facilitate comparison of rest and task functional...

Recent developments in functional connectivity research have expanded the scope of human neuroimaging, from identifying changes in regional activation amplitudes to detailed mapping of large-scale brain networks. However, linking network processes to a clear role in cognition demands advances in the theoretical frameworks, algorithms, and experimen...

Resting-state functional connectivity (FC) has helped reveal the intrinsic network organization of the human brain, yet its relevance to cognitive task activations has been unclear. Uncertainty remains despite evidence that resting-state FC patterns are highly similar to cognitive task activation patterns. Identifying the distributed processes that...

Resting-state functional connectivity (FC) has helped reveal the intrinsic network organization of the human brain, yet its relevance to cognitive task activations has been unclear. Uncertainty remains despite evidence that resting-state FC patterns are highly similar to cognitive task activation patterns. Identifying the distributed processes that...

Our ability to effectively adapt to novel circumstances - as measured by general fluid intelligence - has recently been tied to the global connectivity of lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC). Global connectivity is a broad measure that summarizes both within-network and across-network connectivity. We used additional graph theoretical measures to bett...

Human lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) is thought to play a critical role in enabling cognitive flexibility, particularly when performing novel tasks. However, it remains to be established whether LPFC representation of task-relevant information in such situations actually contributes to successful performance. We utilized pattern classification an...