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) and powered by EPFL-bord methodology to reveal real-time brain dynamics, brings fresh insight into this question, showing for the first time how the brain dynamically balances stability and flexibility during complex mental tasks.

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

F. Saviola, S. Tambalo, L. Beghini, A. Ferrari, B. Cassone, D. Van De Ville, & J. Jovicich, “Disentangling metabolic and neurovascular timescales supporting cognitive processes,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, 2025, 122(39), e2506513122.

Featured on EPFL news by Michael Mitchell.