Fig. 3: Dynamic temporal properties of brain states associated with the Sternberg working memory task.
A The scan session comprised four task runs, each with six randomly intermixed low-load (LL), high-load (HL), and distractor-load (DL) trials. Task design of the three load conditions in run A (top). Averaged time-varying posterior probability of the five brain states across HC, PD-OFF, and PD-ON groups (middle). Temporal evolution of the brain states identified in each group (bottom). B–D Averaged time-varying posterior probabilities of brain state corresponding to Fixation Onset to 1 s after Response Onset for HC, PD-OFF, and PD-ON groups. Each task phase was separated by vertical dashed lines (E: Encoding, M: Maintenance, R: Retrieval). The posterior probability of each brain state showed distinct temporal profiles across different task phases. Data are presented as mean values \(\pm\)SEM. E The likely switching path of the brain states during the task performance. The most likely switching path across the three task phases is State 1→2→3 for LL condition, and State 1→2→3→4 for HL and DL conditions. F Schematic illustrating dynamic evolution of brain state dynamics during the task. G The occupancy rate of brain states during the encoding phase. The relative occupancy rate of State 1 over State 2 is significantly lower in PD-OFF group compared to HC and PD-ON groups in the DL condition. The horizontal line at y = 1 represents the threshold where the dominance of State 1 exceeds that of its neighboring intermediate state, State 2. H The occupancy rate of brain states during the maintenance and retrieval phases. The relative occupancy rate of State 4 over State 3 is significantly lower in PD-OFF group compared to HC group in the HL and DL conditions. The horizontal line at y = 1 represents the threshold where the dominance of State 4 exceeds that of its neighboring intermediate state, State 3. G, H Data are presented as mean values \(\pm\)SEM. *p \( < \) 0.05, n.s. p \(\ge\) 0.05. p-values were determined by two-tailed t-test, with FDR correction, nHC = 37, nPD = 27; all exact p-values are provided in Source Data. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.
