Brain functional connectivity dynamics in the aftermaths of affective and cognitive events.

Neuroimaging studies have shown carry-over effects on brain activity and connectivity following both emotional and cognitive events, persisting even during subsequent rest. Here, we investigate the functional dynamics of such effects by identifying recurring co-activation patterns (CAPs). Using the precuneus as seed region, we compare carrying-over effects on brain-wide CAPs and their modulation after both affective and cognitive challenges. Female volunteers (n=19) underwent fMRI scanning during emotional induction with sad movie clips, and executive control tasks, each followed by resting periods. Several CAPs, overlapping the default mode, salience, attention, and social cognition networks were impacted by both the preceding events (movie or task) and their valence (neutral or negative), with differential fluctuations over time. Specifically, a modulation of CAPs in posterior cingulate and ventromedial prefrontal cortex was observed after exposure to negatively valenced emotional content and predicted changes in subjective affect. Additionally, CAPs in anterior cingulate cortex and dorsal fronto-parietal areas were induced by cognitive control in a negative, but not neutral context, and amplified by the task difficulty. These findings provide new insights on the anatomical organization and temporal inertia of intrinsic functional brain networks, engaged by transient emotions and presumably involved in subsequent adaptive homeostatic processes.