Schweizer Tom A, Oriet Chris, Meiran Nachshon, Alexander Michael P, Cusimano Michael, Stuss Donald T
Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
J Cogn Neurosci. 2007 Dec;19(12):1974-82. doi: 10.1162/jocn.2007.19.12.1974.
Regions within the frontal and parietal cortex have been implicated as important neural correlates for cognitive control during conflict resolution. Despite the extensive reciprocal connectivity between the cerebellum and these putatively critical cortical areas, a role for the cerebellum in conflict resolution has never been identified. We used a task-switching paradigm that separates processes related to task-set switching and the management of response conflict independent of motor processing. Eleven patients with chronic, focal lesions to the cerebellum and 11 healthy controls were compared. Patients were slower and less accurate in conditions involving conflict resolution. In the absence of response conflict, however, tasks-witching abilities were not impaired in our patients. The cerebellum may play an important role in coordinating with other areas of cortex to modulate active response states. These results are the first demonstration of impaired conflict resolution following cerebellar lesions in the presence of an intact prefrontal cortex.
额叶和顶叶皮质内的区域被认为是冲突解决过程中认知控制的重要神经关联。尽管小脑与这些被认为至关重要的皮质区域之间存在广泛的相互连接，但小脑在冲突解决中的作用从未被确定。我们使用了一种任务切换范式，该范式将与任务集切换和反应冲突管理相关的过程与运动处理分开。比较了11名患有小脑慢性局灶性病变的患者和11名健康对照者。在涉及冲突解决的情况下，患者的速度较慢且准确性较低。然而，在没有反应冲突的情况下，我们的患者的任务切换能力并未受损。小脑可能在与其他皮质区域协调以调节主动反应状态方面发挥重要作用。这些结果首次证明了在额叶皮质完整的情况下，小脑病变后冲突解决能力受损。
