Studies of Hierarchic Organization in Prefrontal Cortex

描述（由申请人提供）：PFC介导的认知控制过程允许灵活的行为，通过偏向选择目标相关的反应。 这里提出的研究旨在测试两个相关的假设，RFC控制过程的组织。一项功能性磁共振成像（fMRI）研究将确定RFC区域在选择反应的过程中处理不同水平的表征。假设这些级别是基于指导选择的表示的抽象性而个性化的，范围从具体特征（例如，红色）在前运动皮层，到更抽象的维度（例如，颜色），到一般目标或背景（例如，颜色命名任务）。随后，RFC局灶性损伤的神经系统患者的研究和经颅磁刺激（TMS）局灶性破坏的研究将测试这些RFC区域的功能必要性和独立性。此外，这些数据，沿着功能性磁共振成像数据的功能连接分析，可以测试这样的假设，即这种代表性的层次结构反映在RFC区域之间的关系中，在从上级到下级区域的处理流程中实例化。关于RFC的组织获得的基本知识可以提供重要的见解影响额叶的疾病，并朝着发展的有针对性的临床评估，指数执行功能。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): PFC mediated cognitive control processes permit flexible behavior by biasing selection of goal-relevant responses. The research proposed here seeks to test two related hypotheses regarding the organization of RFC control processes. A functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study will identify regions of RFC processing different levels of representation en route to selecting a response. These levels are hypothesized to be individuated on the basis of the abstractness of the representation guiding selection, ranging from concrete features (e.g., red) in premotor cortex, to more abstract dimensions (e.g., color) in posterior lateral regions, to a general goal or context (e.g., color naming task) in frontal pole. Subsequently, a study of neurological patients with focal damage in RFC and a study of focal disruption by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) will test the functional necessity and independence of these RFC regions. Furthermore, these data, along with functional connectivity analysis of the fMRI data, can test the hypothesis that this representational hierarchy is reflected in the relationship among RFC regions, instantiated in a flow of processing from superordinate to subordinate regions. Basic knowledge gained regarding the organization of RFC can provide important insights into disorders impacting the frontal lobes and toward the development of directed clinical assessments that index executive function.