Task-dependent response conflict monitoring and cognitive control in anterior cingulate and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices

Objective Little has been explored about a reflection towards self-image in schizophrenia, though it can be related to heterogeneous symptoms of the illness. We identified the neural basis of ambivalence towards ideal self-image in patients with schizophrenia.Methods 20 patients with schizophrenia and 20 healthy controls underwent functional MRI while the self-image reflection tasks of determining whether to agree with sentences describing their actual or ideal self-image that contained one of the adjective pairs with opposite valence. The interaction between the group and ideal ambivalence score was examined, and group differences in functional connectivity related to ambivalence towards ideal self-image were further studied.Results The interaction of group-by-ideal ambivalence score was shown in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, where activities were positively correlated with the level of ideal self-image ambivalence in patients, but not in controls. Task-related decrease in functional connectivity was shown between the orbitofrontal cortex and cerebellum in patients.Conclusion The process of reflecting on ambivalent ideal self-image in schizophrenia may be related to aberrant prefrontal activity and connectivity. Abnormality in the prefrontal regions that take part in cognitive conflict monitoring and value judgment may underlie the pathophysiology of increased ambivalence towards ideal self-image.

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of Synapses with inhibitory neurons differentiate anterior cingulate from dorsolateral prefrontal pathways associated with cognitive control.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.1157953.618026 ◽

2009 ◽

Author(s):

Kevan A Martin

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Control ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Inhibitory Neurons ◽

Dorsolateral Prefrontal

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Distinct Roles for the Anterior Cingulate and Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortices During Conflict Between Abstract Rules

Cerebral Cortex ◽

10.1093/cercor/bhw350 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 27 (1) ◽

pp. 34-45 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Erica A. Boschin ◽

Merima M. Brkic ◽

Jon S. Simons ◽

Mark J. Buckley

Keyword(s):

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Dorsolateral Prefrontal ◽

Prefrontal Cortices

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Strategic Modulation of Cognitive Control

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/jocn.2007.19.8.1302 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 19 (8) ◽

pp. 1302-1315 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Ovidiu V. Lungu ◽

Tao Liu ◽

Tobias Waechter ◽

Daniel T. Willingham ◽

James Ashe

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Control ◽

Control Mechanism ◽

Response Conflict ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Response Strategy ◽

Control Mechanisms ◽

Separate Control ◽

Task Features ◽

Long Term Prediction

The neural substrate of cognitive control is thought to comprise an evaluative component located in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and an executive component in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). The control mechanism itself is mainly local, triggered by response conflict (monitored by the ACC) and involving the allocation of executive resources (recruited by the PFC) in a trial-to-trial fashion. However, another way to achieve control would be to use a strategic mechanism based on long-term prediction of upcoming events and on a chronic response strategy that ignores local features of the task. In the current study, we showed that such a strategic control mechanism was based on a functional dissociation or complementary relationship between the ACC and the PFC. When information in the environment was available to make predictions about upcoming stimuli, local task features (e.g., response conflict) were no longer used as a control signal. We suggest that having separate control mechanisms based on local or global task features allows humans to be persistent in pursuing their goals, yet flexible enough to adapt to changes in the environment.

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Macaque anterior cingulate cortex deactivation impairs performance and alters lateral prefrontal oscillatory activities in a rule-switching task

10.1101/427302 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Liya Ma ◽

Jason L. Chan ◽

Kevin Johnston ◽

Stephen G. Lomber ◽

Stefan Everling

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Control ◽

Anterior Cingulate Cortex ◽

Critical Role ◽

Cingulate Cortex ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex ◽

Stimulus Response ◽

Dorsolateral Prefrontal ◽

Phase Amplitude ◽

Switching Task

SUMMARYIn primates, both the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) are key regions of the frontoparietal cognitive control network. To study the role of the dACC and its communication with the dlPFC in cognitive control, we recorded the local field potentials from the dlPFC before and during the reversible deactivation of the dACC, in macaque monkeys engaging in uncued switches between two stimulus-response rules. Cryogenic dACC deactivation impaired response accuracy during rule-maintenance, but not rule-switching, which coincided with a reduction in the correct-error difference in dlPFC beta activities specifically during maintenance of the more challenging rule. During both rule switching and maintenance, dACC deactivation prolonged the animals’ reaction time and reduced task-related theta/alpha activities in the dlPFC; it also weakened dlPFC theta-gamma phase-amplitude modulation. Thus, the dACC and its interaction with the dlPFC plays a critical role in the maintenance of a new, challenging rule.

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Behavioral and Neural Evidence for Item-specific Performance Monitoring

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/jocn.2009.21365 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 22 (12) ◽

pp. 2758-2767 ◽

Cited By ~ 52

Author(s):

Chris Blais ◽

Silvia Bunge

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Control ◽

Stroop Task ◽

Performance Monitoring ◽

Local Level ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Major Focus ◽

General Rules ◽

Specific Performance ◽

Dorsolateral Prefrontal ◽

Behavioral Evidence

How cognitive control is recruited and implemented has become a major focus of researchers in cognitive psychology and neuroscience. Current theories posit that cognitive control operates at the level of general rules—for example, in a Stroop task, “attend to the color of the stimulus.” Here we report behavioral evidence suggesting that cognitive control is implemented much more locally, operating at the level of specific stimuli appearing in a task block. In addition, we report neural evidence that many of the regions implicated in cognitive control on the Stroop task, including anterior cingulate cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, operate at a local level.

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