Chapter 12: Cognitive Control

Question 1

Cognitive control (executive function)

Answer 1

Set of psychological processes that enable us to use our perceptions, knowledge, and goals to bias the selection of action and thoughts

Question 2

Goal-oriented behavior

Answer 2

Behavior that enables us to interact in the world in a purposeful manner

Question 3

Goals

Answer 3

Goals reflect the intersection of our internal desires and drives, coupled with the environmental context

Question 4

Prefrontal cortex

Answer 4

Takes part in higher aspects of motor control and the planning of execution of behavior

Especially tasks that require integration of information over time and thus mandate the involvement of working memory mechanisms

Question 5

Three regions of PFC

Answer 5

1. dorsolateral pfc
2. anterior cingulate and medial frontal regions
3. orbitofrontal cortex

Question 6

Frontal pole FP

Answer 6

Most anterior part of the PFC

Hypothesized to play a critical role in the hierarchical representation of action goals

Question 7

Orbitofrontal cortex

Answer 7

Located above eye orbits

Range of functions including perceptual processes associated with olfaction and taste, as well as those associated with monitoring whether one’s behavior is appropriate

Question 8

Medial frontal cortex

Answer 8

Associated with cognitive control, specifically monitoring functions for error detection and resolving conflict

Question 9

Perservation

Answer 9

Tendency to produce a response on successive trials even when context has changed (frontal lesion patient behavior)

Question 10

Utilization behavior

Answer 10

Extreme dependency on prototypical responses for guiding behavior (disregard for context)

Question 11

Goal-oriented actions

Answer 11

Planned action that is meant to achieve a certain goal

Question 12

Habit

Answer 12

An action that is not under control of a reward, independent of reinforcement

Question 13

Delayed-response tasks

Answer 13

Correct response must be produced after a delay period

Require working memory

Question 14

Normative decision theories

Answer 14

How people should make decisions based on yielding the optimal choice

Question 15

Descriptive decisions theories

Answer 15

Describe what people actually do

Question 16

Action-outcome decisions

Answer 16

Involves evaluation of the expected outcomes

Question 17

Stimulus-response decisions

Answer 17

Has become habitual through repetition

Question 18

Primary reinforcers

Answer 18

Have direct benefits for survival

Question 19

Secondary reinforcers

Answer 19

Have no intrinsic value, but are valued for association with other things (money for example)

Question 20

Value

Answer 20

Abstract entity refering to the overall preference given to a stimulus or action

(Payoff, probability, effort or cost, discounting, context, preference)

Question 21

Temporal discounting

Answer 21

Value of reward is reduced as you wait

Question 22

Dopamine

Answer 22

An organic chemical amine that in the brain functions as a neurotransmitter

Related to rewards

Question 23

Reward prediction error

Answer 23

Difference between obtained and expected reward

Question 24

Dynamic filtering

Answer 24

Key component of working memory

Selection of information most relevant to given circumstances is selected by filtering out irrelevant information

Question 25

Inhibitory control

Answer 25

Regulation of habitual response or environmentally dictated actions

Question 26

Monitoring

Answer 26

Evaluating whether actions are relevant

Question 27

Anterior cingulate cortex

Answer 27

Primitive cellular architecture (3 layer)

Involved in interface between frontal lobe and limbic system

Implicated in response monitoring, error detection, and attention

Question 28

Error-related negativity

Answer 28

EEG

Correlated with occurrence of errors

Prefrontal cortex

Question 29

Feedback-related negativity

Answer 29

Anterior cingulate

EEG

Question 30

Response conflict

Answer 30

Situation in which more than one response is activated (usually due to ambiguity)

Proposed that ACC monitors this