Task2: Cognition

Miller et. al

stimulus-response mapping

PFC: 2-way connections to all sensory neocortical and motor cortices and range of subcortical structures. Asserts top-down influence on a wide range of brain processes

lateral: extends to inferior frontal sulcus (working memory)

medial: extends to cingulate cortex (MCC)

Functions:

Cognititve control over goal-directed behavior (exciting stimulus-response mapping points[associations])

Maintenance (working memory and task rules: biasing other brain areas towards task-relevant information)

Controls lower sensory, memory and motor operations for common purpose

task contingencies

lateral PFC - interconnected with higher-order sensory and motor cortex. Also indirectly connected with Limbic system, processing internal info like reward.

Damage: irresponsibility, stimulus-driven life, distractibility, impulsivity

Wisconsin Card task (sort cards acorindg to figure, card or number) and PFC damage - can learn 1st rule and then cant switch it

mechanisms- dopamine influx into PFC, gating signal strengthening association at a given time,

biased competition model

Passingham et al.

VLPFC= working memory (showed by sustained activity)

sustained activity (maintenance of sensory information, response preparation, transformation of sensory input to response, task rules)

reward expectancy

Lateral PFC stimuli-outcome association

OFC = reward expectancy

PFCs sustained activity is related to cognitive controll of all the elements needed in task execution

Xu, Y et. al

Study - presented subjects with pictures of faces and houses and attend either to houses/faces (pics were overlaping)

Fusiform face area - faces

parahippocampal place area (PPA) = houses

both of these regions were more active when attending to face (for FFA) or house (for PPA)

Inferior frontal junction area (IFJ) responded regardles whether it was house or face- provided FFA/PPA with constant lag of 20ms. IFJ is reponsible fo flexibility in attentional selection of different objects appearing on the same spatial location

Bunge et al.

Abstract rules

STUDY

H: test whether DLPFC and VLPFC or both would be implicated in retrieving/maintaining abstract rules

method: association of 4 verbal with4 nonverbal cues and 4 rules, and were asked if all of them were either correct or incorrect

RESULTS:

Left VLPFC, Parietal cortex and pre-SMA were sensitive to rules

VLPFC retrieves semantic info associated with a cue from left temporal cortex. then interacts with parietal cortex to retrieve and maintain relevant response contingencies

AREA 46 = (DL PFC) response preperation, transformation fron sensory input to response

AREA 48 - (maintenence)

conjunctiv tunint -cooperation between diffrernet brain areas

SPL- voluntary switching of attention

compound vs simple rules

the more complex rule - bigger activation in frontal polar cortex

DLPFC actie only for complex stuff