Functional organization of the inferior frontal junction area and its neighboring regions

认知控制机制使我们能够根据内部目标组织我们的思想和行动。例如，当需要抑制习惯性行为倾向或需要在任务之间频繁切换时，就需要这些机制。有证据表明，后额叶前皮质中的一个区域，即所谓的下额叶连接区（IFJ），在认知控制的实施中起着至关重要的作用。然而，关于新联与邻近地区的分离及其职能的一些重要问题仍未得到解决。例如，目前还不清楚哪些因素决定了IFJ在分心物处理中的参与。此外，IFJ激活的模态依赖性仍然知之甚少。本提案旨在通过采用功能磁共振成像数据的单变量和多变量分析来调查这些开放性问题。它侧重于单一主题和特定主题的群体分析。由于前额叶皮层的显著个体间变异性，这些分析方法比标准组分析更适合于研究功能专业化，与邻近区域的分离以及结构-功能关系。采用这种方法获得的结果将提供一个更好的理解认知控制机制和后前额叶皮层的功能组织的神经元表示。

Cognitive control mechanisms allow us to organize our thoughts and actions in accordance with internal goals. For example, these mechanisms are required when habitual behavior tendencies need to be inhibited or when frequent switching between tasks is necessary. There is evidence that an area in the posterior prefrontal cortex, the so-called inferior frontal junction area (IFJ), plays a vital role in the implementation of cognitive control. However, a number of important questions concerning the IFJ's dissociation from neighboring areas and its function remain unresolved. For instance, it is still unclear which factors determine the involvement of the IFJ in distractor processing. Also, the modality dependence of IFJ activations is still poorly understood. The present proposal aims to investigate these open questions by employing univariate and multivariate analyses of functional magnetic resonance imaging data. It focuses on single-subject and subject-specific group analyses. Owing to the pronounced interindividual variability of the prefrontal cortex, these analysis methods are more suitable than standard group analyses to study functional specializations, dissociations from neighboring areas, and structure-function relationships. The results obtained from employing this approach will afford a better understanding of the neuronal representations of cognitive control mechanisms and of the functional organization of the posterior prefrontal cortex.