The human claustrum supports cognitive networks for externally and internally driven task demands

by Brent W. Stewart, Matthew A. Cormie, Michael L. Keaser, Massieh Moayedi, Brian N. Mathur, David A. Seminowicz

Cognitive control is believed to arise from task-dependent interactions among networks of brain regions. Although several debilitating neuropsychiatric disorders are characterized by cognitive network dysfunction, the neural circuit mechanisms supporting task-dependent network activity are largely unknown. External and internal task demands elicit opposing responses from key cognitive networks, and claustrum projections target regions associated with both network states. We tested if claustrum supports task-dependent network activity in humans using fMRI during tasks with externally and internally driven demands: working memory (n = 420) and autobiographical memory (n = 35). Claustrum activity increased in both tasks. Claustrum exhibited anatomical connectivity with regions representing all implicated networks, and claustrum effective connectivity suggested an excitatory influence on regions in multiple task-associated networks. Task response and connectivity measures differed between the claustrum and regions prominently implicated in directing network states, the anterior insula and pulvinar. These findings establish a role for the claustrum in supporting task-dependent network states subserving cognitive control.