![]() Progress towards understanding PFC function has been made through the development of organizing principles that describe gradients of function across the full extent of PFC. Despite its ubiquitous influence, mechanistic insight into PFC function has remained difficult. Damage to the PFC produces severe deficits in goal-directed cognition ( Luria, 1966 Damasio and Anderson, 1993 Lhermitte, 1986) and neuroimaging studies have demonstrated the involvement of the PFC across a wide range of tasks ( Duncan and Owen, 2000 Niendam et al., 2012). The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is central to higher-level cognition. ![]() Finally, studying how these interactions are altered in disorders such as schizophrenia, where the lateral prefrontal cortex shows abnormal activity, might pave the way for more effective treatments. Additional work in animals would improve our understanding of the mechanisms underlying these interactions. With this strategic overview, the middle areas of the lateral prefrontal cortex are well positioned to play the part of the brain’s chief executive.įuture experiments should test whether the interactions observed between the different regions of the lateral prefrontal cortex are essential for complex planning and thinking. By combining the two sets of information, the middle areas can select behaviors that take into account both present circumstances and longer-term goals. In cognitively demanding situations, the middle areas receive input from both anterior regions (potentially about future needs) and posterior regions (potentially about current needs). ![]() These central areas appear to be highly influential as they have stronger connections to the anterior and posterior regions than vice versa. ![]() Areas in the middle process both types of information. Therefore, Nee and D’Esposito set out to map how the lateral prefrontal cortex is organized, and how its different regions communicate with each other to support complex cognition.īrain imaging revealed that the rear (posterior) part of the lateral prefrontal cortex processes an individual’s current situation, while the front (anterior) prepares for future situations. Of particular interest is whether the lateral prefrontal cortex has a hierarchical organization wherein a region coordinates the roles of other regions, much like the chief executive of a company. This in turn presents a significant roadblock to a full understanding of cognition and human intelligence. However, the involvement of the lateral prefrontal cortex in such a wide range of processes makes it difficult to study. Individuals with damage to the lateral prefrontal cortex are disorganized and easily distracted, and may show behaviors that are inappropriate for their context. Part of the brain called the lateral prefrontal cortex has a critical role in many of the processes seen as hallmarks of human cognition, such as reasoning, planning and problem-solving. Collectively, these results suggest that the LPFC is hierarchically organized with the mid LPFC positioned to synthesize abstract and concrete information to control behavior. Moreover, the strengths of these dynamics were related to trait-measured higher-level cognitive ability. Furthermore, cognitive demands induced connectivity modulations towards mid LPFC consistent with a role in integrating information for control operations. Contrary to dominant assumptions, the relative strength of efferent versus afferent connections positioned mid LPFC as the apex of the hierarchy. Dynamic causal modeling revealed asymmetrical LPFC interactions indicative of hierarchical processing. Here, human fMRI data revealed rostral/caudal gradients of abstraction in the LPFC. However, support for this theory has been limited. An influential proposal is that the LPFC is organized hierarchically whereby progressively rostral areas of the LPFC process/represent increasingly abstract information facilitating efficient and flexible cognition. ![]() Higher-level cognition depends on the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC), but its functional organization has remained elusive. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |