Chapter 12: Cognitive Control Flashcards
1
Q
Also called executive function.
* Ability to guide thoughts and actions intentionally, overriding automatic responses.
* Enables planning, shifting, inhibition, and initiation of goal-directed behavior.
* Supports flexibility across changing goals and environments.
* Allows behavior based on information not currently available in the environment.
A
Cognitive Control
2
Q
what area of the brain supports cognitive control?
A
Critically supported by the prefrontal cortex.
3
Q
True or False: Prefrontal cortex is present across all mammals, but it is disproportionately expanded in
primates, especially humans.
A
TRUE
4
Q
in the evolution of the Prefrontal Cortex, is the expansion greater in white or gray matter?
A
Expansion is greater in white matter than in gray matter
5
Q
what does the evolution of Prefrontal Cortex and Cognitive Control suggest?
A
Suggests human cognition may depend more on long-range connectivity than on sheer brain size
6
Q
describe the Developmental Trajectory of the Prefrontal Cortex?
A
- Prefrontal cortex matures late in development, both in neural density and white matter growth.
- Follows a general pattern: early sensory regions mature first, followed by association areas like PFC and parietal cortex.
- Gray matter volume decreases over time, beginning in sensorimotor areas and progressing to PFC.
- White matter volume increases during development, reflecting growth in long-range connectivity.
- Late PFC development aligns with the emergence of cognitive control, attention, and response inhibition.
7
Q
It links motor, sensory, limbic, and association regions.
* Extensive reciprocal connections with parietal and temporal cortex.
* Receives input from thalamus, basal ganglia, cerebellum,
and brainstem nuclei
A
Prefrontal cortex
8
Q
Almost all cortical and subcortical regions influence __________ directly or through short pathways.
A
PFC (prefrontal cortex)
9
Q
Anatomically positioned to coordinate and integrate
information across the CNS
A
Prefrontal cortex
10
Q
_____________ cortex lies anterior to motor areas and
includes several distinct regions
A
Prefrontal (PFC)
11
Q
what are the 4 main subdivisions of the Prefrontal (PFC) cortex?
A
- Lateral prefrontal cortex
- Frontal pole (anterior prefrontal)
- Orbitofrontal cortex (ventromedial)
- Medial frontal cortex
12
Q
Supports flexible control of behavior across changing goals
A
Lateral Prefrontal Cortex
13
Q
what are the key functions of the lateral prefrontal cortex?
A
- Holding and updating information in
working memory. - Inhibiting automatic responses.
- Directing attention and selecting actions.
- Applying rules and guiding goal-based decisions.
- Planning action sequences and
maintaining task structure
14
Q
Supports high-level cognitive integration across time and context
A
Frontal Pole
15
Q
what are the key functions of the Frontal Pole?
A
- Abstract reasoning and long-term planning.
- Combining information over extended timeframes.
- Representing others’ perspectives and intentions.
- Self-reflection and imagining hypothetical scenarios.
16
Q
What is one of the last regions to mature in development?
A
frontal pole
17
Q
Supports evaluation of outcomes and guides behavior based on rewards and punishments
A
Orbitofrontal Cortex
18
Q
what are the key functions of the Orbitofrontal Cortex?
A
- Integrating sensory and emotional
information. - Adapting behavior based on expected value of actions.
- Regulating impulses in favor of long-term goals.
- Interpreting social cues and emotional context.
- Contributing to empathy, moral reasoning, and social decision making.
19
Q
Supports monitoring of behavior and internal states to guide decision making.
A
Medial Frontal Cortex
20
Q
what are the key functions of the Medial Frontal Cortex?
A
- Error detection, performance monitoring, and conflict resolution (especially in ACC).
- Anticipating outcomes and adjusting behavior based on rewards or costs.
- Supporting logical reasoning and adaptive problem solving.
- Processing emotion and regulating affective responses.
- Contributing to empathy and understanding others’ emotional states.
21
Q
what are the Functional Gradients Ventral to Dorsal in PFC?
A
Ventral to dorsal gradient mirrors the “what” versus “how” distinction seen in sensory cortex.
22
Q
__________ prefrontal regions support maintenance of object-related information.
A
Ventral
23
Q
__________ prefrontal regions support manipulation of information to guide goal-directed action. These
areas are sensitive to spatial relationships and plan actions based on context.
A
Dorsal
24
Q
what does the Functional Gradients to Ventral and Dorsal in the PFC support?
A
This organization supports the transformation of perception into action.
25
what are the Functional Gradients in PFC: Anterior to Posterior?
Anterior to posterior gradient reflects increasing levels of abstraction
26
_______________ supports abstract reasoning, rule integration, and high-level planning
Frontal pole
27
____________ regions of the PFC support concrete tasks such as
working memory maintenance and response selection
Posterior
28
________________ cortex represents the endpoint of this
gradient, where intentions are translated into movement.
Primary motor
29
More ______________ regions in the PFC are recruited when task demands require integrating rules or updating strategies.
anterior
30
what does the Functional Gradients from Anterior to Posterior in the PFC support?
This organization supports flexible, goal directed behavior across different cognitive demands.
31
what are the Functional Gradients in PFC: Lateral to Medial?
Lateral to medial gradient reflects the source of information guiding cognitive control.
32
___________ regions use external cues from the environment
to guide behavior.
Lateral
33
___________ regions rely more on internal states, including emotion, personal history, and motivation.
Medial
34
what does the Functional Gradients from lateral to medial in the PFC allow for?
This organization allows goal-directed behavior to balance situational demands with internal goals.
35
what does the Functional Gradients from lateral to medial in the PFC support?
supports flexible adaptation to both external context and internal priorities
36
- was used in the mid-1900s
to treat psychiatric and neurological disorders.
- Originally intended for severe cases of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or epilepsy.
- Often applied indiscriminately and without rigorous criteria.
Lobotomy
37
what did patients who underwent a lobotomy typically show?
reduced spontaneity,
self-awareness, and emotional
responsiveness.
38
what are common outcomes of a lobotomy?
outcomes included emotional
blunting, poor self-control, and reduced intellectual flexibility.
39
______________ lesions to the Focal Prefrontal Damage often result in mild or compensable deficits.
Unilateral
40
______________ prefrontal lesions lead to severe impairments
in cognitive control.
Bilateral
41
Damage to prefrontal cortex can lead to?
* Poor planning and disorganized behavior
* Perseveration and compulsive tendencies
* Impaired working memory
42
What continues normal functioning, even though there's damage to the prefrontal cortex?
No perceptual or motor impairments
Intact language and long-term memory
Normal IQ
43
causes atrophy of frontal and temporal lobes
Frontotemporal dementia
44
Morphological changes of Frontal Lobe Degeneration
visible as enlarged sulci and reduced gyri
45
when does Frontal Lobe Degeneration begin?
Typically begins between ages 40 and 50.
46
what does Frontal Lobe Degeneration lead to?
major changes in personality
and social behavior
47
what is Frontal Lobe Degeneration often associated with?
with aphasia and
impaired communication.
48
what is the most common form of Frontal Lobe Degeneration?
Behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD)
49
Characterized by personality changes,
apathy, disinhibition, and loss of empathy.
* Impaired abstract reasoning and
conceptual understanding.
Behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD)
50
involves progressive loss
of word and object knowledge
Semantic dementia
51
What is Semantic dementia occasionally linked to?
linked to increased artistic output or creativity
52
What psychiatric disorders is Prefrontal dysfunction also seen in?
Depression
Schizophrenia
OCD
ADHD
53
what can worsen the effects of Prefrontal dysfunction?
External factors like stress and poor health
54
what disrupts prefrontal function?
Drug addiction disrupts prefrontal function, impairing self control and decision making
55
Repeating responses despite changes
in context.
Perseveration
56
Loss of __________________ leads to impulsivity and
distractibility
inhibitory control
57
what are the Behavioral Effects of Prefrontal Damage?
* Loss of inhibitory control leads to impulsivity and distractibility.
* Apathy and poor decision making are common.
* Little awareness or concern for consequences.
* Disorganized memory for sequences or sources of events.
* Impaired rule following and disregard for social norms.
58
in regards of Behavioral Effects of Prefrontal Damage, how does Behavior shift?
Behavior shifts from goal directed to stimulus driven.
59
* Used to evaluate cognitive flexibility and
problem solving.
* Participants sort cards by color, shape,
or number based on changing rules.
* Rule must be discovered through trial
and error with feedback.
* Tests ability to shift strategies and
inhibit perseveration.
* Commonly used to assess frontal lobe
dysfunction and ADHD.
Wisconsin Card Sorting Test
60
How does Damage to right or left dorsolateral and superior medial PFC affect the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test?
It impairs WCST performance.
* Fewer correct categories achieved.
* More perseverative responses to
outdated rules.
61
True or False: Inferior medial PFC damage produces significant deficits.
FALSE; inferior medial PFC damage does not produce significant deficits
62
What do the findings of PFC Lesions and Impaired Card Sorting illustrate?
Findings illustrate functional distinctions in cognitive control within prefrontal cortex
63
what are the Social and Emotional Deficits in Frontotemporal Patients?
* Frontotemporal patients often show
impairments in empathy and emotion
recognition.
* Reduced accuracy in judging mental states of others.
* Lower ratings of emotional intensity in
social stimuli.
* Slower and less accurate on theory of mind tasks.
* Difficulty reasoning about others’ thoughts, beliefs, and intentions.
64
Damage to ___________________ cortex often impairs working memory
lateral prefrontal
65
what two key processes are supported by working memory?
maintenance and manipulation
66
keeping task relevant information active despite distractions.
maintenance
67
transforming or using that information to reach a goal.
manipulation
68
who do deficits in maintenance and manipulation hinder?
hinder planning, focus, and flexibility when behavior depends on internal representations
69
acts as a mental blackboard, allowing us to bridge immediate input with future oriented actions
Working memory
70
allows information to be
updated in response to changing task
demands
Working memory
71
requires participants to respond when a stimulus repeats from n trials earlier.
* Involves both maintenance and continuous updating of information.
* Higher task difficulty (larger n) increases
lateral prefrontal activity.
The N-back Task
72
what does the The N-back Task highlight?
Highlights role of lateral PFC in dynamic
control of working memory
73
how is working memory often tested?
often tested using delayed response tasks,
but a delay alone does not require working memory
74
monkeys must remember the
specific location of a hidden reward across a delay with no external cues.
delayed response task
75
a stable visual cue predicts reward location, allowing monkeys to retrieve a long-term association.
associative memory task
76
Monkeys with lateral prefrontal cortex lesions are impaired in the ____________ response task but not the _____________ cue task
delayed, associative
77
the logic of Monkeys with lateral prefrontal cortex lesions also applies to what?
object permanence tasks in infants
78
describe the experiment of testing Neural Coding of Object and Location in LPFC
* Monkeys performed a working memory task requiring recall of object identity and location.
* After delays, they chose based on the position of the matching object.
79
in the experiment of testing Neural Coding of Object and Location in LPFC, Lateral prefrontal cortex recordings showed?
Some neurons encoded object identity across the delay (“what” cells)
Others encoded location (“where” cells)
About half responded to specific object-
location combinations (“what-where” cells)
80
what did the experiment's findings of testing Neural Coding of Object and Location in LPFC show?
These findings show that LPFC integrates
object and spatial information for task
performance.
81
____________ neurons encode both object features and spatial location, supporting
flexible memory-guided behavior
Prefrontal
82
maintains task goals and works
with inferior temporal cortex to hold goal-relevant content.
Lateral PFC
83
In a delayed-response task, participants viewed faces and later judged whether a probe face was part of the memory set. When did LPFC activity rise?
during encoding and remained high during the delay and retrieval
84
In a delayed-response task, participants viewed faces and later judged whether a probe face was part of the memory set. When did Inferior temporal activity peak?
earlier, during encoding.
85
LPFC activity scaled with ____________
memory load
86
In a test for Categorical responses, Monkeys viewed a sample, followed by a delay and a test stimulus. What were they rewarded for?
identifying test stimuli from the same
category.
87
In a test for Categorical responses, Monkeys viewed a sample, followed by a delay and a test stimulus. What did the ITC emphasize?
ITC emphasized perceptual details.
88
In a test for Categorical responses, Monkeys viewed a sample, followed by a delay and a test stimulus. Which brain area generated stronger category signals?
PFC generated stronger category signals,
integrated memory, and reflected behavioral relevance.
89
Prefrontal cortex adapts its responses to match what?
current task demands
90
____________ neurons can shift selectivity depending on which features are relevant
PFC
91
______________ cortex maintains stable
tuning
inferotemporal
92
______________ neurons may show task modulation but remain
consistently selective for features like faces or objects
ITC
93
true or false: PFC is dynamic and
goal-driven, while ITC is sensory-driven and stable.
TRUE
94
_________________ supports flexible, adaptive decisions based on goals.
Cognitive control
95
Decisions can be.....
Goal-oriented and Habitual
96
based on evaluating expected outcomes
Goal-oriented
97
triggered without regard to current rewards
Habitual
98
Decision theories are....
Normative and descriptive
99
how people should decide for optimal outcomes
Normative
100
how people actually make decisions
Descriptive
101
Decision strategies are....
model-based and model-free
102
use internal models to guide action
model-based
103
rely on learned stimulus-response associations
model-free
104
____________________ involves integrating both external and internal factors to evaluate options.
Decision making
105
Reward size, timing, and certainty
External factors
106
Motivation, risk tolerance, and willingness to delay gratification
Internal factors
107
In regards to decision making, what is the brain estimating?
The brain estimates the value of each option, often favoring outcomes with the greatest expected reward.
108
why is value subjective?
it's shaped by internal states
and context, not just the external reward
109
describe decision making of cost?
* Subject bids how much they are willing to pay for an item
* Bidding too high risks overpaying; bidding too low risks losing the item
A random price is drawn after the bid:
- If the bid is lower than the price, they get nothing
- If the bid is equal to or higher, they win the item and pay the random price
* This setup encourages truthful bidding
and reveals internal value under uncertainty
110
What if the price is shown before the bid?
* May shift willingness to pay
* Anchoring can bias internal value
judgments
111
what do we tend to value?
Tendency to value immediate rewards
more than delayed ones
112
true or false: Discounting rate varies widely across individuals.
TRUE
113
what is higher Discounting rate linked to?
- Smoking
- Obesity
- Drug and alcohol abuse
- Poor academic performance
- Divorce
114
what do Temporal Discounting Patterns show?
Shows how time preferences influence
long-term outcomes.
115
what is subjective value influenced by?
- Reward size, context, and probability
- Delay, cost, and required effort
- Personal preferences, prior experience, and aesthetics
116
Subjective value reflects both....
Primary and secondary reinforcers
117
what are examples of primary reinforcers?
food, warmth
118
what are examples of secondary reinforcers?
money, status
119
reflects working memory and cognitive
control.
Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC)
120
responds to all value dimensions, integrating cost, reward,
and probability
Anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)
121
shows strongest responses to payoff magnitude
Orbitofrontal cortex (OFC)
122
which areas of the brain encode subjective value?
Different regions of medial
prefrontal, orbitofrontal, and
cingulate cortex
123
Patients with orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) damage show what?
abnormal temporal
discounting
124
Patients with orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) damage prefer what type of rewards?
They prefer immediate rewards, even when larger delayed rewards are available
125
patients with damage outside
frontal cortex show what?
typical discounting
126
Controls will wait months to
double a reward; OFC patients often wait for how long?
refuse to wait more than two weeks
127
* Represents subjective
value of outcomes
* Integrates sensory input,
reward anticipation, and
emotional relevance
* Involved in evaluating the
desirability of options
* Part of “Limbic” network
Orbitofrontal cortex (OFC)
128
* Supports cognitive control
and working memory
* Enables strategic planning
and rule-based decisions
* Inhibits impulsive responses
to support goal-directed
behavior
* Part of “Cognitive Control”
network
Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
(DLPFC)
129
Subcortical regions like the basal ganglia, hypothalamus, and amygdala contribute to ___________________________.
reward processing
130
________________, released from the substantia nigra and
ventral tegmental area (VTA), plays a central role in reward processing.
Dopamine
131
what are the key properties of dopamine signaling?
- Reflects reward expectation more than reward
magnitude
- Drives learning by encoding a prediction error signal
- Updates value estimates based on the difference between expected and actual outcomes
132
what do the dopamine signals guides?
adaptive decision making.
133
In learning, initially, ________________ neurons in the VTA respond to unexpected juice (reward) delivery.
dopamine
134
With conditioning, response shifts to the what?
light that predicts juice.
135
What does the shift to the light that predicts juice illustrate?
reward prediction error (RPE)
136
Unexpected reward causes ____________ RPE and dopamine _____________.
positive, firing
137
Predicted reward causes ____________ RPE and dopamine _____________.
no, reduced response
138
what becomes the source of positive RPE?
Predictive cue (light)
139
Dopamine tracks changes in ______________ to guide learning.
expectation
140
low reward probability leads to....
strong positive prediction error
141
high reward probability leads to....
weaker response
142
Inhibitory __________ neurons signal reward expectancy to dopaminergic neurons
GABA
143
assumes dopamine acts as a learning signal, BUT:
- Mice without dopamine can still learn
- Mice with excess dopamine do not learn faster
Reward prediction error (RPE) theory
144
what is an alternative view to the Reward prediction error (RPE) theory?
dopamine may signal consequences of prediction and learning. Instead of
coding error, dopamine may reflect saliency and desirability.
145
what is important or attention-worthy
Saliency
146
how rewarding something is, when paired with outcome
Desirability
147
Dopaminergic neurons show distinct response patterns. What are these patterns?
1. Valence coding (mainly in VTA)
2. Salience coding (mainly in SN)
148
What is valence coding?
- Some neurons encode reward prediction error (RPE):
- Firing increases for unexpected rewards
- Firing decreases for unexpected punishments
- Others encode expected value:
- Firing scales with the predicted value of outcomes
- Together, these neurons reflect how good or bad an
outcome is, either through surprise or expectation
149
what is salience coding?
- Firing increases with reinforcement probability regardless of outcome
- Responds to both reward and punishment
- Signals the importance or predictiveness of a stimulus
150
to achieve goals, what do we need to do?
- Identify primary objectives and sub-goals
- Anticipate consequence
151
Goal representations are _______________ organized along the anterior-posterior axis of
prefrontal cortex
hierarchically
152
____________ regions handle simpler, lower-level tasks
Posterior
153
______________ regions manage complex, abstract tasks
Anterior
154
TRUE OR FALSE: Difficulty with complex goals (anterior) doesn’t
always impair simpler ones (posterior)
TRUE
155
Cognitive control requires ___________________ in managing goals and subgoals
flexibility
156
what is the flexibility needed for cognitive control?
- Focus on task-relevant information
- Ignore distractions
- Reprioritize when needed
157
what can frontal lobe damage impair?
- Goal prioritization
- Filtering of irrelevant inputs
- Shifting between goals or strategies
158
Describe the A-not-B Task?
* The A-not-B task assesses infants’ ability to update behavior when goals change.
* An object is hidden repeatedly at location A, then visibly switched to location B.
* Infants under 10 months often reach back to A, despite seeing the new hiding spot.
159
In the A-not-B Task, what does the perseverative error reflect?
This perseverative error reflects
reliance on prior habits rather than flexible goal updating
160
what does the A-not-B Task reveal?
reveals early limits in working
memory and cognitive control.
161
_____________________ relies on a
network involving prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate, basal ganglia, and thalamus
Cognitive flexibility
162
what else shows similar
errors to young children on the A-not-B task, revealing a shared
reliance on PFC?
Monkeys with dorsolateral
prefrontal lesions
163
what do deficits in cognitive flexibility contribute to?
Deficits in this network contribute to rigidity in disorders such as OCD, ADHD, and schizophrenia
164
what must we do to stay focused?
we must filter out irrelevant
inputs and highlight what matters for the current goal.
165
depends on lateral prefrontal cortex, which helps select and
maintain task-relevant features in working memory
Dynamic filtering
166
_____________ applies to both perception and memory and updates as goals change
Filtering
167
________________ damage can spare basic cognition
but impair goal-directed focus
prefrontal
168
_____________ cortex helps filter memory retrieval to align with
current goals
Prefrontal
169
Retrieving information from memory requires what?
selecting goal-relevant associations and suppressing others
170
Describe the fMRI study by Thompson-Schill
An fMRI study by Thompson-Schill used a verb generation
task with high and low filtering demands.
- Low: Nouns with one clear verb (e.g., scissors → cut)
- High: Nouns with many possible verbs (e.g., rope → tie,
twirl, lasso)
171
In the fMRI study by Thompson-Schill, greater activation in left inferior frontal and temporal cortex was seen under ________ filtering demands.
high
172
what does the fMRI study by Thompson-Schill support the role of?
role of prefrontal cortex in controlled memory retrieval when goals change or competition increases.
173
Dynamic filtering influences information processing by....
- Enhancing goal-relevant inputs
- Inhibiting irrelevant inputs
174
which selective attention mechanism is difficult to isolate
through behavior alone?
Dynamic filtering
175
In regard to dynamic filtering, Patients with frontal lobe damage show what?
reduced inhibitory control.
176
In regard to dynamic filtering, Patients with temporoparietal lobe damage show what?
reduced responses, likely due to sensory loss
177
the frontal lobe and temporoparietal damage suggests what?
frontal cortex normally inhibits
irrelevant input to prevent interference.
178
Filtering modulates what?
sensory processing
179
in young adults, Remembering faces causes ____________ FFA,
____________ PPA
increased, decreased
180
in young adults, Remembering scenes causes ____________ FFA,
____________ PPA
decreased, increased
181
in older adults, what is observed?
Only enhancement effects observed, not suppression
182
in older adults, we only observe enhancement effects. what does this suggest?
Suggests that enhancement and
suppression rely on separate mechanisms
183
does aging affect suppression or enhancement?
Aging may affect suppression more than enhancement
184
_______________ helps suppress planned motor actions when new information signals a change is needed
Inhibition
185
Patients with _____________________________
lesions are slower to stop actions
right inferior frontal cortex (IFC)
186
in regard to inhibition, what does the fMRI show?
shows right IFC activity during both successful and failed stop trials, suggesting it helps initiate the stop signal.
187
____________ cortex shows early activation on failed stop
trials, indicating that the action had already started.
Motor
188
_________________ in the basal ganglia also helps maintain global inhibition of cortex.
Subthalamic nucleus
189
what do animals do in the wild that connects to decisions?
In the wild, animals exploit a food source until intake falls below the average for the environment,
then they explore
190
what animals do in the wild when finding a food source, why do we mimic this behavior in Lab foraging tasks?
to study real-world decision making
191
what does Lab foraging tasks require?
require evaluating when it is better to leave the current option
192
in lab foraging tasks, what do neural recordings show?
the anterior cingulate
cortex (ACC) monitors current value and promotes switching when better options may exist.
193
what does the anterior cingulate
cortex (ACC) support?
ACC supports ongoing evaluation of whether to stay or explore.
194
what does effective goal pursuit require?
continuously evaluating
whether to stay the course or adapt
195
plays a key role in this
ongoing monitoring process
The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)
196
when does ACC activity increase?
when tasks involve uncertainty,
subgoals, or potential errors
197
what does the ACC activity help signal?
helps signal when current strategies may no longer be
effective.
198
involved in arousal and motivation; lesions can
lead to reduced initiation or engagement.
anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)
199
what do the diverse roles of the ACC suggest?
functional subdivisions within
ACC, each linked to different control demands.
200
Medial frontal cortex, especially ACC, may serve as the top of the attentional hierarchy and coordinate activity across attention systems.
Hypothesis 1: ACC as Attentional Coordinator
201
in hypothesis 1, How does the Medial frontal cortex interact with the PFC?
selects working memory contents
202
in hypothesis 1, How does the Medial frontal cortex interact with the Posterior cortex?
modulates perceptual regions
203
in hypothesis 1, when does ACC activity increase?
increases during divided attention
204
in hypothesis 1, When does ACC activity decrease?
drops as attention demands decrease
205
what are critiques to the Hypothesis 1: ACC as Attentional Coordinator?
- Lacks detail on how ACC is recruited.
- Unclear what representations it supports.
- Does not explain how ACC guides control.
206
Medial frontal cortex, especially ACC, may detect errors and
help adjust control by reactivating task goals or reallocating attention.
Hypothesis 2: ACC as Error Monitoring
207
in hypothesis 2, what are the type of interactions? (support for this)
- Time-locked signals following errors (ERN)
- Feedback-locked signals to unexpected outcomes (FRN)
208
in hypothesis 2, when does ACC activity increase?
increases following incorrect responses
209
in hypothesis 2, where is ERN and FRN observed?
across EEG and fMRI studies
210
what were the critiques of hypothesis 2?
- ACC active even when no errors occur
- FRN may reflect surprise more than error
211
Medial frontal cortex, especially ACC, may detect response conflict and signal the need for increased control.
* This view integrates attention and error-
monitoring models.
Hypothesis 3: ACC as Conflict Monitor
212
what is the support for hypothesis 3?
- In Stroop tasks, ACC activity increases with
response conflict
- Lateral PFC tracks task difficulty and goal selection
213
what are the critiques of hypothesis 3?
- Does not fully explain how conflict signals guide
specific control adjustments
- Overlap with other models makes dissociation difficult
214
in regard of the stroop test, when does the LPFC show greater activity?
Activity for difficulty in goal selection (word vs color task)
215
In regard of the stroop test, when does the ACC show greater activity?
Activity when word and color were incongruent
216
which parts of the brain work together to manage conflict and sustain task goals?
Medial and lateral prefrontal cortices
217
When participants experience high response conflict on
an incongruent trial, activity in the ACC ______________.
increases
218
When participants experience high response conflict on
an incongruent trial, what does the heightened activity predict?
stronger activation in
lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) on the following trial
219
Stronger _______ responses support improved goal maintenance and filtering, which in turn reduce conflict and lower ACC activity on subsequent trials
LPFC
220
The dynamic of ACC and LPFC Interactions supporting goal maintenance, what does this suggest?
suggests that the ACC monitors for conflict and signals the need for increased control,
which is then implemented by LPFC.
221
ACC activation correlates with what?
with anticipation of potential errors, suggesting a role in predicting conflict and managing risk
222
Increased ACC activity during difficult tasks may reflect what?
variability in trial-by-
trial effort or time on task
223
All models of the ACC aim to explain what?
how control emerges from intrinsic brain mechanisms,
avoiding reliance on a “homunculus.”
224
patients with medial frontal damage often perform normally on control tasks but show blunted arousal responses, what is this consistent with?
consistent with the ACC’s role in
integrating autonomic signals with cognitive demands
225
important for representing subjective value
Orbitofrontal cortex
(OFC)
226
exerts control and working
memory
Dorsolateral prefrontal
cortex (DLPFC)
227
monitors actions and outcomes, integrating decision variables and signaling to other brain
regions to adjust behavior
Anterior cingulate cortex
(ACC)
