W5 Flashcards
What are executive functions?
Executive functions are cognitive processes necessary for optimizing performance in tasks that require coordination, supervision, and meta-cognition, rather than being specific to one cognitive domain. They involve distinguishing between automatic and controlled behaviors, typically requiring the involvement of the prefrontal cortex (PFC).
What is the anatomy of the Prefrontal Cortex (PFC)?
The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is extensively interconnected with various brain regions and is divided into three surfaces: lateral, medial, and orbital. The lateral surface is implicated in cognitive aspects of control, while the orbital and medial surfaces are more involved in emotional and social regulation of behavior.
What are 5 Situations that use executive functions?
Executive functions are involved in situations requiring planning, decision-making, error correction, trouble-shooting, responding to novel sequences of actions, managing dangerous or technically challenging tasks, and overcoming habitual responses or resisting temptation.
What is the Towers of London task which involves executive functions?
The Towers of London task requires participants to plan their moves in advance without actually executing them, thus necessitating planning and decision-making skills. Activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) is observed during this task, and damage to this region results in poorer performance.
What is the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test which involves executive functions?
The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test assesses executive functions such as error correction, trouble shooting, and task switching. Participants must adapt their strategy following an unexpected rule change, and failure to do so is indicative of prefrontal cortex (PFC) dysfunction.
What did the Wisconsin card sorting test tell us about executive functions and the PFC?
The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test revealed that the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) is associated with updating rules, while damage to the dorsolateral PFC leads to perseveration behavior. Additionally, the dorsolateral PFC is crucial for feedback processing, while the ventrolateral PFC plays a role in negative feedback and rule updating.
What are executive functions involved in the Stroop test?
Executive functions are necessary for overcoming habitual responses, as demonstrated in the Stroop test where participants must name the color of the ink rather than reading the word itself. The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) medial wall and pre-supplementary motor area are implicated in this task.
What’s the role of the Anterior Cingulate (ACC) in executive functions?
The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is involved in detecting errors and response conflict, as evidenced by studies showing that lesions in this region impair trouble-shooting after errors. The ACC is responsible for detecting errors, but it does not correct them, as suggested by neuroimaging findings showing increased activity on error trials but greater lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity on subsequent trials.
What is Petrides’ (2000) theory of working memory (a non-unitary model)?
Petrides’ theory posits a division of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) into distinct processes: maintenance (retention) and manipulation (updating and manipulation of stored information). Manipulation and monitoring processes are associated with the dorsolateral PFC, while maintenance and retrieval activities are linked to the ventrolateral PFC. The posterior cortex is implicated as the storage site of information.
Research evidence for Petrides (2000) theory of working memory?
Research supporting Petrides’ theory includes tasks like the self-ordered pointing task, which requires participants to maintain and manipulate information. Patients with PFC damage perform poorly on such tasks. PET studies have shown that short-term maintenance of spatial information activates the ventrolateral PFC, while maintenance coupled with updating tasks engage the dorsolateral PFC. Monkey studies also support the involvement of the dorsolateral PFC in updating tasks.
What evidence is there for functional specialization within the left DLPFC?
Evidence for functional specialization within the PFC includes findings suggesting that the left dorsolateral PFC may be responsible for selecting from a range of plausible responses and task-setting. Additionally, studies have shown that TMS over the left dorsolateral PFC disrupts tasks like random digit generation.
What functional specialization may there be in the Right Dorsolateral PFC?
The right dorsolateral PFC may be involved in monitoring and sustained attention tasks (N-back task), both for externally presented information (perception tasks) and internally generated information (memory tasks). Its activity is highest in conditions of uncertainty, such as tip-of-tongue states or confidence judgments in memory.
What is Unitary Accounts theory of executive functions?
Unitary accounts propose that there is no discrete set of executive functions but rather one general underlying function. Evidence supporting this includes correlations between performance on various executive function tasks and fluid intelligence. Single-cell recording studies in monkeys suggest that any part of the PFC may execute executive functions depending on task demands.
What is The multiple-demand network?
The multiple-demand network is a set of fronto-parietal brain regions active during tasks considered to involve executive functions. It helps break down complex tasks into smaller attentional episodes. Lesion studies indicate that deficits in this network are associated with impairments in fluid intelligence, highlighting its importance in complex cognitive functions.
