Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Prefrontal neurons have been shown to represent task rules. Here we show the mechanisms by which the rule-selective activity in the prefrontal cortex influences subsequent cognitive performance based on that rule. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we found that the frontopolar cortex interacted with posterior areas differently depending on whether subjects were going to perform a phonological or semantic task. Moreover, we found that the sustained "set" activity in this region predicted the activity that could be recorded in the posterior areas during the performance, as well as the speed of that performance. We argue that the prefrontal set activity does not reflect simple maintenance of the task rules but the process of implementing the rule for subsequent cognitive performance and that this is done through rule-selective interactions with areas involved in execution of the tasks.

Original publication

DOI

10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3887-05.2006

Type

Journal article

Journal

J Neurosci

Publication Date

25/01/2006

Volume

26

Pages

1211 - 1218

Keywords

Adult, Cognition, Female, Goals, Humans, Judgment, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Phonetics, Prefrontal Cortex, Psychomotor Performance, Reading, Semantics, Set (Psychology), Time Factors