Electrophysiological dynamics of cognitive control networks in human memory and replication across four experiments.

Dynamic interactions between large-scale brain networks are thought to underpin human cognitive processes such as episodic memory formation, but their underlying electrophysiological dynamics are not known. The triple network model, highlighting the salience, default mode, and frontoparietal networks, are fundamental to this process. To unravel the electrophysiological mechanisms underlying these interactions, we utilized intracranial EEG from 177 participants across four memory experiments. Findings revealed directed information flow from the anterior insula node of the salience network to the default mode and frontoparietal networks, regardless of the nature of the tasks - whether they involved externally driven stimuli during encoding or internally governed processes during free recall. Moreover, this pattern of information transmission was observed irrespective of the activation or suppression states of network nodes. Crucially, results were replicated across four different memory experiments. Our study advances understanding of how coordinated neural network interactions underpin cognitive operations.