A brain-based universal measure of attention: predicting task-general and task-specific attention performance and their underlying neural mechanisms from task and resting state fMRI

Abstract

Attention is central for many aspects of cognitive performance, but there is no singular measure of a person’s overall attentional functioning across tasks. To develop a universal measure that integrates multiple components of attention, we collected data from more than 90 participants performing three different attention-demanding tasks during fMRI. We constructed a suite of whole-brain models that can predict a profile of multiple attentional components – sustained attention, divided attention and tracking, and working memory capacity – from a single fMRI scan type within novel individuals. Multiple brain regions across the frontoparietal, salience, and subcortical networks drive accurate predictions, supporting a universal (general) attention factor across tasks, which can be distinguished from task-specific attention factors and their neural mechanisms. Furthermore, connectome-to-connectome transformation modeling enhanced predictions of an individual’s attention-task connectomes and behavioral performance from their rest connectomes. These models were integrated to produce a new universal attention measure that generalizes best across multiple, independent datasets, and which should have broad utility for both research and clinical applications.