Executive Functions Flashcards
what are executive functions?
top-most part of top-down processing
what do executive functions coordinate?
other brain modules to enable purposeful and goal directed behaviour
what brain area are executive functions associated with?
prefrontal cortex
lateral surfaces of PFC
involved in cold control (cognitive executive processes)
orbital and medial surfaces of PFC
involved in hot control (emotion and social regulation of behaviour)
the towers of london task
requires planning several moves ahead
- DLPFC is activated and damage to this results in poor performance
wisconsin card sorting test
requires shift in strategy following rule change
- VLPFC involved in error correction and troubleshooting
when does DLPFC respond?
during processing feedback, regardless of positive or negative
when is VLPFC activated?
for negative feedback, suggesting involvement when there is need to change a rule
what did MRI studies show during the stroop test?
anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and pre-supplementary motor area (SMA) are involved in error detection and response conflict
non-unitary models of executive functioning
petrides’ (2000) theory of working memory suggests PFC is divided into two processes
what does petrides suggest VLPFC is involved in?
maintaining and retrieving information from working memory
what does petrides suggest DLPFC is involved in?
manipulating and monitoring information in working memory
when do PET studies show VLPFC activity?
during short-term maintenance of spatial information
when do PET studies show DLPFC activity?
updating with new locations
what does functional specialisation suggest?
left DLPFC is responsible for selecting responses, task-setting, and free will
right DLPFC activity
increased during higher conditions of n-back task
- showing involvement in monitoring sustained information during perception and memory
unitary models of executive functionign
argues executive function is one general underlying function, supported by positive manifold in executive function tasks
single-cell recordings of monkeys show…
PFC responsiveness is flexible and any part can do executive function under the right circumstances
duncan and owens’ (2000) multiple demand network
MD found evidence for a single set of fronto-parietal brain regions being active during all executive function tasks
what is MD evidence of?
dividing complex tasks into “attentional episodes” and smaller sequences
woolgar (2018) found patients with MD lesions…
had greater deficits in fluid intelligence, reasoning and problem solving
- suggests MD is required for complex thought
