{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,11]],"date-time":"2026-06-11T17:03:45Z","timestamp":1781197425059,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":75,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2013,11,7]],"date-time":"2013-11-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1383782400000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/zero\/1.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.ploscompbiol.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS Comput Biol"],"DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pcbi.1003348","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2013,11,7]],"date-time":"2013-11-07T16:49:34Z","timestamp":1383842974000},"page":"e1003348","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pcbi.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":74,"title":["Average Is Optimal: An Inverted-U Relationship between Trial-to-Trial Brain Activity and Behavioral Performance"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"9","author":[{"given":"Biyu J.","family":"He","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"John M.","family":"Zempel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2013,11,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"459","DOI":"10.1002\/cne.920180503","article-title":"The relation of strength of stimulus to rapidity of habit-formation","volume":"18","author":"RM Yerkes","year":"1908","journal-title":"Journal of Comparative Neurology and Psychology"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e113","DOI":"10.1016\/j.biopsych.2011.03.028","article-title":"Inverted-U-shaped dopamine actions on human working memory and cognitive control","volume":"69","author":"R Cools","year":"2011","journal-title":"Biol Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"376","DOI":"10.1038\/nn1846","article-title":"Inverted-U dopamine D1 receptor actions on prefrontal neurons engaged in working memory","volume":"10","author":"S Vijayraghavan","year":"2007","journal-title":"Nat Neurosci"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"360","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pneurobio.2011.06.002","article-title":"Cholinergic modulation of cognition: insights from human pharmacological functional neuroimaging","volume":"94","author":"P Bentley","year":"2011","journal-title":"Prog Neurobiol"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"403","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev.neuro.28.061604.135709","article-title":"An integrative theory of locus coeruleus-norepinephrine function: adaptive gain and optimal performance","volume":"28","author":"G Aston-Jones","year":"2005","journal-title":"Annu Rev Neurosci"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1180","DOI":"10.1038\/nn.2374","article-title":"Stress, genotype and norepinephrine in the prediction of mouse behavior using reinforcement learning","volume":"12","author":"G Luksys","year":"2009","journal-title":"Nat Neurosci"},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"10186","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.2584-04.2004","article-title":"Prestimulus oscillations enhance psychophysical performance in humans","volume":"24","author":"K Linkenkaer-Hansen","year":"2004","journal-title":"J Neurosci"},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1379","DOI":"10.1162\/jocn.2010.21478","article-title":"From prestimulus alpha oscillation to visual-evoked response: an inverted-U function and its attentional modulation","volume":"23","author":"R Rajagovindan","year":"2011","journal-title":"J Cogn Neurosci"},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"307","DOI":"10.1162\/jocn.2009.21247","article-title":"Detection of a weak somatosensory stimulus: role of the prestimulus mu rhythm and its top-down modulation","volume":"22","author":"Y Zhang","year":"2010","journal-title":"J Cogn Neurosci"},{"key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1816","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.1853-07.2008","article-title":"Prestimulus oscillatory activity in the alpha band predicts visual discrimination ability","volume":"28","author":"H van Dijk","year":"2008","journal-title":"J Neurosci"},{"key":"ref11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"10984","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.0712043105","article-title":"Spontaneous local variations in ongoing neural activity bias perceptual decisions","volume":"105","author":"G Hesselmann","year":"2008","journal-title":"Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A"},{"key":"ref12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"14481","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.4398-08.2008","article-title":"Ongoing activity fluctuations in hMT+ bias the perception of coherent visual motion","volume":"28","author":"G Hesselmann","year":"2008","journal-title":"J Neurosci"},{"key":"ref13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"12187","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.0611404104","article-title":"Baseline brain activity fluctuations predict somatosensory perception in humans","volume":"104","author":"M Boly","year":"2007","journal-title":"Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A"},{"key":"ref14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"171","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2007.08.023","article-title":"Intrinsic fluctuations within cortical systems account for intertrial variability in human behavior","volume":"56","author":"MD Fox","year":"2007","journal-title":"Neuron"},{"key":"ref15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"595","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2011.12.025","article-title":"Rostrolateral prefrontal cortex and individual differences in uncertainty-driven exploration","volume":"73","author":"D Badre","year":"2012","journal-title":"Neuron"},{"key":"ref16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1162","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuroimage.2010.03.041","article-title":"Visually induced gamma-band activity predicts speed of change detection in humans","volume":"51","author":"N Hoogenboom","year":"2010","journal-title":"Neuroimage"},{"key":"ref17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"470","DOI":"10.1038\/nn.3017","article-title":"Mechanisms underlying cortical activity during value-guided choice","volume":"15","author":"LT Hunt","year":"2012","journal-title":"Nat Neurosci"},{"key":"ref18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"733","DOI":"10.1038\/nature04258","article-title":"Gamma-band synchronization in visual cortex predicts speed of change detection","volume":"439","author":"T Womelsdorf","year":"2006","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"ref19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"456","DOI":"10.1038\/nn.3038","article-title":"Theta coupling between V4 and prefrontal cortex predicts visual short-term memory performance","volume":"15","author":"S Liebe","year":"2012","journal-title":"Nat Neurosci"},{"key":"ref20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1698","DOI":"10.1038\/nn1587","article-title":"Neuronal correlates of subjective sensory experience","volume":"8","author":"V de Lafuente","year":"2005","journal-title":"Nat Neurosci"},{"key":"ref21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"412","DOI":"10.1038\/nature03961","article-title":"A sensory source for motor variation","volume":"437","author":"LC Osborne","year":"2005","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"ref22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"87","DOI":"10.1017\/S095252380000715X","article-title":"A relationship between behavioral choice and the visual responses of neurons in macaque MT","volume":"13","author":"KH Britten","year":"1996","journal-title":"Vis Neurosci"},{"key":"ref23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"369","DOI":"10.1038\/nn.2501","article-title":"Stimulus onset quenches neural variability: a widespread cortical phenomenon","volume":"13","author":"MM Churchland","year":"2010","journal-title":"Nat Neurosci"},{"key":"ref24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"958","DOI":"10.1152\/jn.1963.26.6.958","article-title":"The Variability of Central Neural Activity in a Sensory System, and Its Implications for the Central Reflection of Sensory Events","volume":"26","author":"G Werner","year":"1963","journal-title":"J Neurophysiol"},{"key":"ref25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2204","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.2967-11.2012","article-title":"Dissociation of response variability from firing rate effects in frontal eye field neurons during visual stimulation, working memory, and attention","volume":"32","author":"MH Chang","year":"2012","journal-title":"J Neurosci"},{"key":"ref26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"137","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2007.02.029","article-title":"The emergence of contrast-invariant orientation tuning in simple cells of cat visual cortex","volume":"54","author":"IM Finn","year":"2007","journal-title":"Neuron"},{"key":"ref27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"981","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2012.07.026","article-title":"Unreliable evoked responses in autism","volume":"75","author":"I Dinstein","year":"2012","journal-title":"Neuron"},{"key":"ref28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1171","DOI":"10.1152\/jn.00689.2009","article-title":"Changes in the response rate and response variability of area V4 neurons during the preparation of saccadic eye movements","volume":"103","author":"NA Steinmetz","year":"2010","journal-title":"J Neurophysiol"},{"key":"ref29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3697","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.3762-05.2006","article-title":"Neural variability in premotor cortex provides a signature of motor preparation","volume":"26","author":"MM Churchland","year":"2006","journal-title":"J Neurosci"},{"key":"ref30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4672","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.2922-12.2013","article-title":"Spontaneous and task-evoked brain activity negatively interact","volume":"33","author":"BJ He","year":"2013","journal-title":"J Neurosci"},{"key":"ref31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"353","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2010.04.020","article-title":"The temporal structures and functional significance of scale-free brain activity","volume":"66","author":"BJ He","year":"2010","journal-title":"Neuron"},{"key":"ref32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5053","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.0305375101","article-title":"Infraslow oscillations modulate excitability and interictal epileptic activity in the human cortex during sleep","volume":"101","author":"S Vanhatalo","year":"2004","journal-title":"Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A"},{"key":"ref33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"700","DOI":"10.1038\/nrn2201","article-title":"Spontaneous fluctuations in brain activity observed with functional magnetic resonance imaging","volume":"8","author":"MD Fox","year":"2007","journal-title":"Nat Rev Neurosci"},{"key":"ref34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1724","DOI":"10.1126\/science.274.5293.1724","article-title":"Chaos in neuronal networks with balanced excitatory and inhibitory activity","volume":"274","author":"C van Vreeswijk","year":"1996","journal-title":"Science"},{"key":"ref35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"25","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev.psych.55.090902.141429","article-title":"Indeterminacy in brain and behavior","volume":"56","author":"PW Glimcher","year":"2005","journal-title":"Annu Rev Psychol"},{"key":"ref36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"292","DOI":"10.1038\/nrn2258","article-title":"Noise in the nervous system","volume":"9","author":"AA Faisal","year":"2008","journal-title":"Nat Rev Neurosci"},{"key":"ref37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"137","DOI":"10.1016\/S0166-2236(98)01238-7","article-title":"Getting the most out of noise in the central nervous system","volume":"21","author":"SF Traynelis","year":"1998","journal-title":"Trends Neurosci"},{"key":"ref38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"12612","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.0680-12.2012","article-title":"Improved Sensorimotor Performance via Stochastic Resonance","volume":"32","author":"I Mendez-Balbuena","year":"2012","journal-title":"J Neurosci"},{"key":"ref39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pneurobio.2009.01.006","article-title":"Stochastic dynamics as a principle of brain function","volume":"88","author":"G Deco","year":"2009","journal-title":"Prog Neurobiol"},{"key":"ref40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"16039","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.0807010105","article-title":"Electrophysiological correlates of the brain's intrinsic large-scale functional architecture","volume":"105","author":"BJ He","year":"2008","journal-title":"Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A"},{"key":"ref41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"37","DOI":"10.1152\/physrev.1985.65.1.37","article-title":"Current source-density method and application in cat cerebral cortex: investigation of evoked potentials and EEG phenomena","volume":"65","author":"U Mitzdorf","year":"1985","journal-title":"Physiol Rev"},{"issue":"(9)","key":"ref42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2383","DOI":"10.1152\/jn.00723.2011","article-title":"Suppression of cortical neural variability is stimulus- and state-dependent","volume":"108","author":"B White","year":"2012","journal-title":"J Neurophysiol"},{"key":"ref43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"896","DOI":"10.1126\/science.1103736","article-title":"Optical imaging of neuronal populations during decision-making","volume":"307","author":"KL Briggman","year":"2005","journal-title":"Science"},{"key":"ref44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"899","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2012.04.014","article-title":"Spontaneous high-gamma band activity reflects functional organization of auditory cortex in the awake macaque","volume":"74","author":"M Fukushima","year":"2012","journal-title":"Neuron"},{"key":"ref45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"277","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tics.2010.04.004","article-title":"Large-scale brain networks in cognition: emerging methods and principles","volume":"14","author":"SL Bressler","year":"2010","journal-title":"Trends Cogn Sci"},{"key":"ref46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"137","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev.ne.11.030188.001033","article-title":"Topography of cognition: parallel distributed networks in primate association cortex","volume":"11","author":"PS Goldman-Rakic","year":"1988","journal-title":"Annu Rev Neurosci"},{"key":"ref47","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5487","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1121049109","article-title":"Whole-brain, time-locked activation with simple tasks revealed using massive averaging and model-free analysis","volume":"109","author":"J Gonzalez-Castillo","year":"2012","journal-title":"Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A"},{"key":"ref48","first-page":"323","article-title":"The development of a noisy brain","volume":"148","author":"AR McIntosh","year":"2010","journal-title":"Arch Ital Biol"},{"key":"ref49","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4496","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.5641-10.2011","article-title":"The importance of being variable","volume":"31","author":"DD Garrett","year":"2011","journal-title":"J Neurosci"},{"key":"ref50","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e1000106","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pcbi.1000106","article-title":"Increased brain signal variability accompanies lower behavioral variability in development","volume":"4","author":"AR McIntosh","year":"2008","journal-title":"PLoS Comput Biol"},{"key":"ref51","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4914","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.5166-09.2010","article-title":"Blood oxygen level-dependent signal variability is more than just noise","volume":"30","author":"DD Garrett","year":"2010","journal-title":"J Neurosci"},{"key":"ref52","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"837","DOI":"10.1016\/S1388-2457(99)00322-3","article-title":"Schizophrenia: reduced signal-to-noise ratio and impaired phase-locking during information processing","volume":"111","author":"G Winterer","year":"2000","journal-title":"Clin Neurophysiol"},{"key":"ref53","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1314","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.3733-05.2006","article-title":"A recurrent network mechanism of time integration in perceptual decisions","volume":"26","author":"KF Wong","year":"2006","journal-title":"J Neurosci"},{"key":"ref54","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"833","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuroimage.2010.01.047","article-title":"Attractor concretion as a mechanism for the formation of context representations","volume":"52","author":"M Rigotti","year":"2010","journal-title":"Neuroimage"},{"key":"ref55","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e1002395","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pcbi.1002395","article-title":"Neural network mechanisms underlying stimulus driven variability reduction","volume":"8","author":"G Deco","year":"2012","journal-title":"PLoS Comput Biol"},{"key":"ref56","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"113","DOI":"10.1038\/nrn2558","article-title":"State-dependent computations: spatiotemporal processing in cortical networks","volume":"10","author":"DV Buonomano","year":"2009","journal-title":"Nat Rev Neurosci"},{"key":"ref57","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"48","DOI":"10.1126\/science.1155564","article-title":"Neuroscience. Transient dynamics for neural processing","volume":"321","author":"M Rabinovich","year":"2008","journal-title":"Science"},{"key":"ref58","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"218101","DOI":"10.1103\/PhysRevLett.103.218101","article-title":"Dynamical origin of the effective storage capacity in the brain's working memory","volume":"103","author":"C Bick","year":"2009","journal-title":"Phys Rev Lett"},{"key":"ref59","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"661","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2005.09.032","article-title":"Transient dynamics versus fixed points in odor representations by locust antennal lobe projection neurons","volume":"48","author":"O Mazor","year":"2005","journal-title":"Neuron"},{"key":"ref60","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"33","DOI":"10.1016\/B978-0-444-53355-5.00003-8","article-title":"A dynamical systems view of motor preparation: implications for neural prosthetic system design","volume":"192","author":"KV Shenoy","year":"2011","journal-title":"Prog Brain Res"},{"key":"ref61","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"119","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tics.2010.01.003","article-title":"Statistically optimal perception and learning: from behavior to neural representations","volume":"14","author":"J Fiser","year":"2010","journal-title":"Trends Cogn Sci"},{"key":"ref62","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"33","DOI":"10.1038\/373033a0","article-title":"Stochastic resonance and the benefits of noise: from ice ages to crayfish and SQUIDs","volume":"373","author":"K Wiesenfeld","year":"1995","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"ref63","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"236","DOI":"10.1038\/376236a0","article-title":"Stochastic resonance without tuning","volume":"376","author":"JJ Collins","year":"1995","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"ref64","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3146","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1460-9568.2007.05553.x","article-title":"A novel mechanism for evoked responses in the human brain","volume":"25","author":"VV Nikulin","year":"2007","journal-title":"Eur J Neurosci"},{"key":"ref65","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7781","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.1631-08.2008","article-title":"Asymmetric amplitude modulations of brain oscillations generate slow evoked responses","volume":"28","author":"A Mazaheri","year":"2008","journal-title":"J Neurosci"},{"key":"ref66","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Llinas R (2001) I of the Vortex: From Neurons to Self. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.","DOI":"10.7551\/mitpress\/3626.001.0001"},{"key":"ref67","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"10240","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.0701519104","article-title":"Network structure of cerebral cortex shapes functional connectivity on multiple time scales","volume":"104","author":"CJ Honey","year":"2007","journal-title":"Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A"},{"key":"ref68","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3366","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.2523-11.2012","article-title":"Ongoing cortical activity at rest: criticality, multistability, and ghost attractors","volume":"32","author":"G Deco","year":"2012","journal-title":"J Neurosci"},{"key":"ref69","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"26","DOI":"10.1016\/S1364-6613(00)01564-3","article-title":"Cortical coordination dynamics and cognition","volume":"5","author":"SL Bressler","year":"2001","journal-title":"Trends Cogn Sci"},{"key":"ref70","unstructured":"Talairach J, Tournoux P (1988) Co-Planar Stereotaxic Atlas of the Human Brain. Stuttgart - New York: Georg Thieme Verlag."},{"key":"ref71","unstructured":"Jenkins GM, Watts DG (1998) Spectral analysis and its applications. Boca Raton, Florida: Emerson-Adams Press."},{"key":"ref72","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"83","DOI":"10.1038\/nature05758","article-title":"Intrinsic functional architecture in the anaesthetized monkey brain","volume":"447","author":"JL Vincent","year":"2007","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"ref73","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"297","DOI":"10.1152\/jn.00783.2009","article-title":"Intrinsic functional connectivity as a tool for human connectomics: theory, properties, and optimization","volume":"103","author":"KR Van Dijk","year":"2010","journal-title":"J Neurophysiol"},{"key":"ref74","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"422","DOI":"10.1137\/1010093","article-title":"Fractional Brownian motions, fractional noises and applications","volume":"10","author":"BB Mandelbrot","year":"1968","journal-title":"SIAM Review"},{"key":"ref75","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1123","DOI":"10.1016\/j.sigpro.2010.10.014","article-title":"Fast and Exact Synthesis of Stationary Multivariate Gaussian Time Series Using Circulant Embedding","volume":"91","author":"H Helgason","year":"2010","journal-title":"Signal Processing In Press"}],"container-title":["PLoS Computational Biology"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"http:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pcbi.1003348","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2019,8,1]],"date-time":"2019-08-01T00:58:11Z","timestamp":1564621091000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pcbi.1003348"}},"subtitle":[],"editor":[{"given":"Olaf","family":"Sporns","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"editor"}]}],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2013,11,7]]},"references-count":75,"journal-issue":{"issue":"11","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2013,11,7]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pcbi.1003348","relation":{},"ISSN":["1553-7358"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1553-7358","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2013,11,7]]}}}