J. Cogn. Neurosci.
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Hadland, K. A.
Right arrow Articles by Rothwell, J. C.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Hadland, K. A.
Right arrow Articles by Rothwell, J. C.
(Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. 2001;13:1097-1108.)
© 2001 The MIT Press

Interference With Performance of a Response Selection Task that has no Working Memory Component: An rTMS Comparison of the Dorsolateral Prefrontal and Medial Frontal Cortex

K. A. Hadland, M. F. S. Rushworth and R. E. Passingham

University of Oxford

M. Jahanshahi and J. C. Rothwell

The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London, UK

It has been suggested that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is involved in free selection (FS), the process by which subjects themselves decide what action to perform. Evidence for this proposal has been provided by imaging studies showing activation of the DLPFC when subjects randomly generate responses. However, these response selection tasks have a hidden working memory element and it has been widely reported that the DLPFC is activated when subjects perform tasks which involve working memory. The primary aim of this experiment was to establish if the DLPFC is genuinely involved in response selection. We used repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to investigate whether temporary interference of the DLPFC could disrupt performance of a response selection task that had no working memory component. Subjects performed tasks in which they made bimanual sequences of eight nonrepeating finger movements. In the FS task, subjects chose their movements at random while a computer monitor displayed these moves. This visual feedback obviated the need for subjects to maintain their previous moves "on-line." No selection was required for the two control tasks as responses were cued by the visual display. The attentional demands of the control tasks varied. In the high load (HL) version, subjects had to maintain their attention throughout the sequence, but this requirement was absent in the low load (LL) task. rTMS over the DLPFC slowed response times on the FS task and at the end of the sequence on the HL task, but had no effect on the LL task. rTMS over the medial frontal cortex (MFC) slowed response times on the FS task but had no effect on the HL task. This suggests that a response selection task without a working memory load will depend on the DLPFC and the MFC. The difference appears to be that the DLPFC is important when selecting between competing responses or when concentrating if there is a high attentional demand, but that the MFC is only important during the response selection task.


Key Words: Anterior cingulate cortex • SMA • Pre-SMA • Attention • Free selection




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J. Neurophysiol.Home page
P. C. J. Taylor, M. F. S. Rushworth, and A. C. Nobre
Choosing Where to Attend and the Medial Frontal Cortex: An fMRI Study
J Neurophysiol, September 1, 2008; 100(3): 1397 - 1406.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Neurosci.Home page
P. C. J. Taylor, A. C. Nobre, and M. F. S. Rushworth
Subsecond Changes in Top Down Control Exerted by Human Medial Frontal Cortex during Conflict and Action Selection: A Combined Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Electroencephalography Study
J. Neurosci., October 17, 2007; 27(42): 11343 - 11353.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Cogn. Neurosci.Home page
S. Torriero, M. Oliveri, G. Koch, C. Caltagirone, and L. Petrosini
The what and how of observational learning.
J. Cogn. Neurosci., October 1, 2007; 19(10): 1656 - 1663.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 NeuroscientistHome page
L. Petrosini
"Do What I Do" and "Do How I Do": Different Components of Imitative Learning Are Mediated by Different Neural Structures
Neuroscientist, August 1, 2007; 13(4): 335 - 348.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USAHome page
E. Feredoes, G. Tononi, and B. R. Postle
Direct evidence for a prefrontal contribution to the control of proactive interference in verbal working memory
PNAS, December 19, 2006; 103(51): 19530 - 19534.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Cereb CortexHome page
M. S. Fleck, S. M. Daselaar, I. G. Dobbins, and R. Cabeza
Role of Prefrontal and Anterior Cingulate Regions in Decision-Making Processes Shared by Memory and Nonmemory Tasks
Cereb Cortex, November 1, 2006; 16(11): 1623 - 1630.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Cereb CortexHome page
I. G. Dobbins and S. Han
Isolating Rule- versus Evidence-Based Prefrontal Activity during Episodic and Lexical Discrimination: a Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Investigation of Detection Theory Distinctions
Cereb Cortex, November 1, 2006; 16(11): 1614 - 1622.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Cogn. Neurosci.Home page
S. Windmann, M. Wehrmann, P. Calabrese, and O. Gunturkun
Role of the Prefrontal Cortex in Attentional Control over Bistable Vision.
J. Cogn. Neurosci., March 1, 2006; 18(3): 456 - 471.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Neurophysiol.Home page
I. Kahn, A. Pascual-Leone, H. Theoret, F. Fregni, D. Clark, and A. D. Wagner
Transient Disruption of Ventrolateral Prefrontal Cortex During Verbal Encoding Affects Subsequent Memory Performance
J Neurophysiol, July 1, 2005; 94(1): 688 - 698.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Cogn. Neurosci.Home page
S. R. Arnott, C. L. Grady, S. J. Hevenor, S. Graham, and C. Alain
The Functional Organization of Auditory Working Memory as Revealed by fMRI
J. Cogn. Neurosci., May 1, 2005; 17(5): 819 - 831.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Cogn. Neurosci.Home page
F. P. de Lange, P. Hagoort, and I. Toni
Neural Topography and Content of Movement Representations
J. Cogn. Neurosci., January 1, 2005; 17(1): 97 - 112.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Cereb CortexHome page
J. B. Rowe, K. E. Stephan, K. Friston, R. S.J. Frackowiak, and R. E. Passingham
The Prefrontal Cortex shows Context-specific Changes in Effective Connectivity to Motor or Visual Cortex during the Selection of Action or Colour
Cereb Cortex, January 1, 2005; 15(1): 85 - 95.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Neurophysiol.Home page
S. W. Kennerley, K. Sakai, and M.F.S. Rushworth
Organization of Action Sequences and the Role of the Pre-SMA
J Neurophysiol, February 1, 2004; 91(2): 978 - 993.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Cogn. Neurosci.Home page
M. Gomez-Beldarrain, C. Harries, J. C. Garcia-Monco, E. Ballus, and J. Grafman
Patients with Right Frontal Lesions are Unable to Assess and Use Advice to Make Predictive Judgments
J. Cogn. Neurosci., January 1, 2004; 16(1): 74 - 89.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Neurophysiol.Home page
M.F.S. Rushworth, K. A. Hadland, T. Paus, and P. K. Sipila
Role of the Human Medial Frontal Cortex in Task Switching: A Combined fMRI and TMS Study
J Neurophysiol, May 1, 2002; 87(5): 2577 - 2592.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
NEURAL COMPUTATION J COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE MIT PRESS JOURNALS
Copyright © 2001 by The MIT Press.