# The integrated roles of regions and networks in frontal lobe organization

> **NIH NIH F32** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY · 2022 · $72,795

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY. The organization of cognitive control processes in lateral frontal cortex (LFC) has been
described in both regional and network models. Regionally, different types of control are organized hierarchically
along a rostrocaudal axis2-8. At the network level, LFC is segregated into two functional networks, the fronto-
parietal (FP) and cingulo-opercular (CO), which support control at two different timescales9-10. Despite similarities
between the these models, there is no parsimonious model that accounts for both scales. A novel perspective
that allows networks to overlap (i.e., share regions) can serve as a basis for their reconciliation13. Based on
evidence from a preliminary analysis of overlapping network membership in LFC, I have proposed a novel two-
scale model of LFC functional organization. LFC regions form a previously unidentified "task" network that
overlaps the FP and CO networks. The task network supports tasks that engage the LFC, and connects LFC
regions hierarchically. This proposal will test this model and its overlapping networks by (1) comparing changes
in network integration and regional hierarchical influence at rest and during tasks with different control demands,
and (2) causally testing how overlapping network membership predicts changes in network connectivity after
regional perturbation. In Aim 1, I will partially replicate a previous study18 to assess task-related network
integration between the task network and FP and CO networks and its relationship with hierarchical strength
between LFC regions. I will collect resting state data in 32 participants as well as two sessions of fMRI data
recorded during a behavioral task whose conditions have different control demands and therefore engage distinct
LFC regions. Graph theory measures of integration will be applied to task data within each condition11-12. For this
analysis, I predict that integration of the task network with the FP and/or CO networks will be greater in conditions
with demands that recruit LFC regions in each network. I will also correlate the change in network-specific
integration from rest to each task condition with the change in regional hierarchical strength in each region. For
this analysis, I predict that the change in FP and CO network integration with the task network will be positively
correlated with the hierarchical strength of the LFC regions they contain. For Aim 2, I will expand on previously
reported work from our lab23 to assess how network connectivity changes when regions with different overlapping
network membership profiles are perturbed with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). I will collect three
sessions of fMRI data in 32 participants. Session 1 will be used to identify separate TMS targets in the FP
network that are and are not a part of the task network. In sessions 2 and 3, I will collect data before and after
stimulation of one of these targets. I predict that TMS to the site that is part of the task network wil...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10318951
- **Project number:** 5F32MH119761-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY
- **Principal Investigator:** Savannah Cookson
- **Activity code:** F32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $72,795
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-01-09 → 2022-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10318951

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10318951, The integrated roles of regions and networks in frontal lobe organization (5F32MH119761-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10318951. Licensed CC0.

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