Increased Cognitive Load Expands, Stabilizes, and Aligns Visual Representation Across the Human Brain

Higher cognitive load in two fMRI visual n-back experiments expands visual representations beyond localized visual regions, producing widespread visual coding and stronger interregional alignment.

• Why it matters: Prior work focused on cognitive load’s harmful effects, leaving unclear how the brain adaptively reorganizes neural processing to meet heightened demands.
• What they did: Across two fMRI experiments using visual n-back tasks, the study tested how load changes visual representation extent, representational alignment, interregional functional connectivity, and neural pattern variability.
• The result: Increased load strengthened representational alignment, increased information in interregional connectivity patterns, and reduced neural pattern variability, while encoding load as a separate brain state that guides visual processing.

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