Ausaf Ahmed Farooqui and colleagues have published “Domain-general demands that deactivate multiple-demand regions” in Cerebral Cortex (March 2026).
Most tasks unfold as episodes made of many steps. Across four fMRI experiments, the study found that setting up the mental program for an extended task at its start involves a categorically different demand from carrying it out. This demand deactivates widespread regions, including the same multiple-demand regions that activate during difficult tasks, which changes how we think about the brain’s general-purpose control systems.
Authors: Tamer Gezici, Elif Oymagil, Adem Yazıcı, Berhan Faruk Akgür, İpek Çiftçi, Ausaf Ahmed Farooqui