Information Spillover in Resting Memory and Working Memory
Our fMRI study investigates dependencies between brain areas during resting and working memory states using directed spillover indices estimated from vector autoregressive models that recognize dynamics in the network. A dorsolateral prefrontal centered system (DLPFC) demonstrates spillover memory capacity at rest, labeled resting memory, which facilitates self-referential thinking. Resting memory contains roughly 9 times more neurocognitive dependencies (spillover) as the difference in spillover between working and resting brains, suggesting that resting brains are highly active. The transitioning from resting memory to working memory is initiated by a right inferior fontal (IFG) centered system which connects to the DLPFC centered system when relevant information is detected in the outside world and also inhibits self-referential feedback in parietal cortices. Spillover between the IFG and DLPFC centered systems facilitate a smooth transition in attention from events that take place outside the brain to (sustained) representations of external events within the brain.