The ascending arousal system promotes optimal performance through mesoscale network integration in a visuospatial attentional task

Abstract

In our daily lives, it is usual to encounter highly demanding cognitive tasks. They have been traditionally regarded as challenges that are solved mainly through cerebral activity, specifically via information-processing steps carried by neurons in the cerebral cortex. Activity in cortical networks thus constitutes a key factor for improving our understanding of cognitive processes. However, recent evidence has shown that evolutionary older players in the central nervous system, such as brain stem's ascending modulatory systems, might play an equally important role in diverse cognitive mechanisms. Our article examines the role of the ascending arousal system on large-scale network dynamics by combining pupillometry, functional MRI, and graph theoretical analysis.