TY - JOUR T1 - Trial-by-trial neural variability is an individual human trait JF - bioRxiv DO - 10.1101/096198 SP - 096198 AU - Ayelet Arazi AU - Gil Gonen–Yaacovi AU - Ilan Dinstein Y1 - 2017/01/01 UR - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/07/19/096198.abstract N2 - A wide variety of sensory studies have shown that cortical neural activity varies dramatically across trials. This trial-by-trial neural variability is relatively large in the pre-stimulus period and considerably smaller (quenched) following stimulus presentation. The magnitude of neural variability affects behavior such that perceptual performance is better on trials and in individuals where variability quenching is larger. Are neural variability magnitudes transient states that change with time, attentional demands, and/or cognitive requirements? Or are they static individual traits? Here, we show that neural variability magnitudes are remarkably consistent across four different tasks with different attentional and cognitive demands as well as across experimental sessions separated by one year. These results reveal that, in adults, neural variability magnitudes are solidified individual traits, which change little with behavioral state or time, and may predispose individual subjects to exhibit distinct behavioral capabilities.Significance statement Brain activity varies dramatically from one moment to the next. Recent research has revealed that differences in the magnitude of trial-by-trial neural variability can explain differences in behavioral performance across subjects. Do neural variability magnitudes represent flexible states that are under the control of an individual or are they static individual traits? By comparing neural variability magnitudes across four different experiments with different attentional and cognitive demands, and across two experimental sessions separated by one year, we demonstrate that neural variability magnitudes are remarkably consistent individual traits. We suggest that the magnitude of neural variability may predispose individual subjects to exhibit different behavioral capabilities. ER -