Brain Dynamics of Mental Manipulation

David Ricardo Quiroga‐Martinez; Tianyu He; Gemma Fernández‐Rubio; Leonardo Bonetti; Alejandro Omar Blenkmann; Tor Endestad; Anne‐Kristin Solbakk; Torstein Ragnar Meling; Martin Ejler Fabricius; Olivia Kim McManus; Jon Timothy Willie; Peter Brunner; Mohammad Dastjerdi; Jack J. Lin; Robert Thomas Knight

doi:10.1101/2025.10.20.683458

NeurosciencebioRxivOct 20, 2025

Preprint

Brain Dynamics of Mental Manipulation

David Ricardo Quiroga‐Martinez iD, Tianyu He, Gemma Fernández‐Rubio iD, Leonardo Bonetti iD, Alejandro Omar Blenkmann iD, Tor Endestad iD, Anne‐Kristin Solbakk iD, Torstein Ragnar Meling iD, Martin Ejler Fabricius iD, Olivia Kim McManus iD, Jon Timothy Willie iD, Peter Brunner iD, Mohammad Dastjerdi iD, Jack J. Lin iD, Robert Thomas Knight iD

Abstract

Humans effortlessly juggle their internal thoughts, but the neuronal dynamics that support mental manipulation are largely unknown. Leveraging the high spatiotemporal fidelity of intracranial recordings in humans (N = 30), we provide evidence that mental sound manipulation involves the inhibition of sensory cortex and the coordinated engagement of memory and control networks. This modulation manifests in two ways. First, there is a shift in the balance between faster (> 30 Hz) and slower (< 30 Hz) dynamics in primary and secondary auditory areas, suggesting a decrease in local excitability. Second, there is a distributed increase in oscillatory synchrony (6-10 Hz), which predicts imagery vividness and task performance. This evidence points to a key role of local excitability and inter-areal synchrony in the manipulation of thought.

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