Schedule of Events | Symposia

Brain network flexibility enables learning: Evidence from modal control in adaptive visual attention training

Poster Session A - Saturday, March 29, 2025, 3:00 – 5:00 pm EDT, Back Bay Ballroom/Republic Ballroom

Alexanndra Angebrandt¹, Ramsey Wilcox¹, Aron Barbey¹; ¹University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Adaptive visual attention relies on cognitive control to prioritize relevant stimuli and suppress distractors, processes governed by top-down mechanisms that regulate attention and enable flexible brain activity. The brain uses substantial energy to engage and maintain the network states that support these top-down control mechanisms. The energy required to transition to these states is further influenced by task complexity, with greater task demands (e.g., more distractors in visual search) necessitating increased cognitive control and transition energy (Beynel et al., 2020). Modal controllability quantifies how effectively brain regions facilitate these high-energy transitions, an ability commonly associated with networks involved in top-down control. In the present study, we investigated how individual differences in modal controllability, assessed prior to the intervention, affected learning during a 16-week adaptive visual attention training program designed to improve visual attention and visual working memory. We hypothesized that individuals with higher modal controllability would exhibit more efficient learning, particularly in networks associated with top-down control, such as the frontoparietal network. Using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), we measured structural brain connectivity in 40 healthy college students prior to training. Our results revealed that individuals with higher modal controllability, both globally and within cognitive control networks, demonstrated faster learning. By revealing how modal control influences learning, this study advances our understanding of the network mechanisms that enable adaptive behavior in complex, dynamic environments.

Topic Area: EXECUTIVE PROCESSES: Other