How the Brain Balances Stability and Flexibility During Mental Tasks

What happens in the brain when we focus, remember, or make decisions? A new study led by the University of Trento’s Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC) brings fresh insight into this question, showing for the first time how the brain dynamically balances stability and flexibility during complex mental tasks.

Published in the journal PNAS, the study combined real-time neuroimaging with dynamic connectivity analysis to track how brain metabolism and network organization shift in response to cognitive demands. The research shows that as tasks become more complex, the brain transitions between stable communication patterns and moments of reconfiguration—similar to how a car delicately balances acceleration and braking to navigate a winding road.

“This balance between excitation and inhibition is what allows us to be both focused and adaptable,” explains Francesca Saviola, co-first author of the study. “We found that the brain operates like a finely tuned orchestra, where chemical and vascular signals rise and fall in synchrony—especially during demanding tasks.”

Saviola, now a researcher at EPFL’s Neuro X Institute, developed key parts of the methodology during a research stay at the Medical Image Processing Lab (MIP:Lab), under the mentorship of Dimitri Van De Ville. The lab’s pioneering work in dynamic functional connectivity analysis helped shape the real-time approach used in the study.

“For us, it’s gratifying to see our methods contribute to such important questions in cognitive neuroscience,” says Van De Ville. “The collaboration with CIMeC highlights how bridging institutions and disciplines can generate new insights into how the healthy brain functions.”

The collaboration was supported by the ISMRM Research Exchange Program and marked a turning point in Saviola’s PhD research, conducted under the supervision of Prof. Jorge Jovicich at CIMeC.

“This work opens new perspectives on how the brain helps us stay mentally agile,” adds Jovicich. “Understanding these dynamic mechanisms may one day lead to new ways of diagnosing or treating neurological and psychiatric disorders.”