Cole Michael W, Ito Takuya, Braver Todd S
Department of Psychology, Washington University, St Louis, MO 63130, USA Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ 07120, USA.
Department of Psychology, Washington University, St Louis, MO 63130, USA.
Cereb Cortex. 2016 Jun;26(6):2497-505. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhv072. Epub 2015 Apr 13.
Human lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) is thought to play a critical role in enabling cognitive flexibility, particularly when performing novel tasks. However, it remains to be established whether LPFC representation of task-relevant information in such situations actually contributes to successful performance. We utilized pattern classification analyses of functional MRI activity to identify novelty-sensitive brain regions as participants rapidly switched between performance of 64 complex tasks, 60 of which were novel. In three of these novelty-sensitive regions-located within distinct areas of left anterior LPFC-trial-evoked activity patterns discriminated correct from error trials. Further, these regions also contained information regarding the task-relevant decision rule, but only for successfully performed trials. This suggests that left anterior LPFC may be particularly important for representing task information that contributes to the cognitive flexibility needed to perform successfully in novel task situations.
人类外侧前额叶皮层（LPFC）被认为在实现认知灵活性方面起着关键作用，尤其是在执行新任务时。然而，在这种情况下，LPFC对与任务相关信息的表征是否真的有助于成功执行任务，仍有待确定。我们利用功能磁共振成像活动的模式分类分析，来识别对新奇性敏感的脑区，此时参与者在64项复杂任务之间快速切换，其中60项是新任务。在这些对新奇性敏感的区域中的三个——位于左前LPFC的不同区域——试验诱发的活动模式能够区分正确试验和错误试验。此外，这些区域还包含与任务相关的决策规则的信息，但仅针对成功执行的试验。这表明左前LPFC对于表征有助于在新任务情境中成功执行所需认知灵活性的任务信息可能特别重要。
