Paper Info
Title
Individual differences in cognitive style and strategy predict similarities in the patterns of brain activity between individuals.
Abstract
Neuroimaging is being used increasingly to make inferences about an individual. Yet, those inferences are often confounded by the fact that topographical patterns of task-related brain activity can vary greatly from person to person. This study examined two factors that may contribute to the variability across individuals in a memory retrieval task: individual differences in cognitive style and individual differences in encoding strategy. Cognitive style was probed using a battery of assessments focused on the individual's tendency to visualize or verbalize written material. Encoding strategy was probed using a series of questions designed to assess typical strategies that an individual might utilize when trying to remember a list of words. Similarity in brain activity was assessed by cross-correlating individual t-statistic maps contrasting the BOLD response during retrieval to the BOLD response during fixation. Individual differences in cognitive style and encoding strategy accounted for a significant portion of the variance in similarity. This was true above and beyond individual differences in anatomy and memory performance. These results demonstrate the need for a multidimensional approach in the use of fMRI to make inferences about an individual.
Year
DOI
Venue
2012
10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.05.060
NeuroImage
Keywords
Field
DocType
fMRI,Inter-individual variability,Cognitive style,Encoding strategies,Memory retrieval
Brain mapping,Developmental psychology,Psychology,Cognitive psychology,Brain activity and meditation,Neuroimaging,Cognition,Cognitive style,Encoding (memory)
Journal
Volume
Issue
ISSN
59
1
1053-8119
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
7
0.57
12
Authors
5
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Michael B. Miller1354.76
Christa-Lynn Donovan2131.25
Craig M. Bennett370.57
Elissa Aminoff4304.25
Richard E. Mayer5873410.00