Differential excitatory-inhibitory balance within dorsolateral prefrontal cortex links inter-network interactions in working memory
Abstract
Working memory involves complex activity and interactions across multiple brain areas. However, little is known about how these large-scale activity and interaction patterns relate to resting-state activity and to excitatory and inhibitory interactions within localized brain regions. Here we show, using multimodal neuroimaging and large-scale neural network modelling, that excitatory and inhibitory neuronal activities within the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) are linked to inter-network interactions during working memory. We generate testable predictions by perturbing a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)-constrained neural network model and by performing molecular-enriched analyses using fMRI and positron emission tomography (PET) receptor maps. We then show that frontoparietal and default-mode network activity, which differs between resting state and working memory, covaries with DLPFC activity and its functional interactions with these networks. These findings provide a mechanistic account of how local excitatory and inhibitory activity may support large-scale network dynamics involved in working memory.
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BibTeX
@article{xu2026differential,
title = {{Differential excitatory-inhibitory balance within dorsolateral prefrontal cortex links inter-network interactions in working memory}},
author = {Zihang Xu and Haiqi Zhu and Yangping Li and Zehua Lv and Shijie Zhou and Chunyu Zhang and Baichun Wei and Chunzhi Yi},
journal = {Communications Biology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1038/s42003-026-11089-9},
url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-026-11089-9},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Differential excitatory-inhibitory balance within dorsolateral prefrontal cortex links inter-network interactions in working memory
AU - Zihang Xu
AU - Haiqi Zhu
AU - Yangping Li
AU - Zehua Lv
AU - Shijie Zhou
AU - Chunyu Zhang
AU - Baichun Wei
AU - Chunzhi Yi
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/09
JO - Communications Biology
DO - 10.1038/s42003-026-11089-9
UR - https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-026-11089-9
AB - Working memory involves complex activity and interactions across multiple brain areas. However, little is known about how these large-scale activity and interaction patterns relate to resting-state activity and to excitatory and inhibitory interactions within localized brain regions. Here we show, using multimodal neuroimaging and large-scale neural network modelling, that excitatory and inhibitory neuronal activities within the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) are linked to inter-network interactions during working memory. We generate testable predictions by perturbing a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)-constrained neural network model and by performing molecular-enriched analyses using fMRI and positron emission tomography (PET) receptor maps. We then show that frontoparietal and default-mode network activity, which differs between resting state and working memory, covaries with DLPFC activity and its functional interactions with these networks. These findings provide a mechanistic account of how local excitatory and inhibitory activity may support large-scale network dynamics involved in working memory.
SN - 2399-3642
ER -