Study of the Relationship between the Spatial Organization of Cerebral Cir-culation and the Control of Cognitive Functions

The purpose of the study was to study the fronto-occipital organization of cerebral circulation during short-term mental stress, as well as to study the relationship between the spatial organization of cerebral circulation during mental stress and the effectiveness of behavior control. In this work, attention was paid to potential typological characteristic – fronto-occipital asymmetry of cerebral circulation. Known data suggest a relationship between changes in the spatial distribution of cerebral circulation and the productivity of mental activity and the effectiveness of behavior control. Using the method of rheoencephalography, 40 students (aged 19–23 years) studied the parameters of cerebral circulation during mental stress (GO/NOGO test). The stimulus material was presented on a monitor using the PsychoPy program. The number of errors was estimated. The rheoencephalogram was recorded using the “Reo-Spectrum” device. The spatial organization of pulse blood supply in the basin of the internal carotid and vertebral arteries in the initial state and during mental stress was assessed by the fronto-occipital gradient. With a short-term mental load, students showed an increase in both general and particular fronto-occipital gradients. A negative correlation was established between the increase in the right-diagonal fronto-occipital gradient (reactive control axis) in the first minute of the mental load and the number of errors in the GO/NOGO test. The prospects of using the fronto-occipital organization of cerebral circulation to predict the effectiveness of mental activity are discussed.