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通过对目标相关反应的偏倚选择，允许灵活的行为。本文提出的研究旨在检验关于RFC控制过程组织的两个相关假设。一项功能性磁共振成像（fMRI）研究将确定在选择反应的过程中，RFC处理不同程度表征的区域。假设这些水平是根据指导选择的表征的抽象性而个性化的，从运动前皮层的具体特征（例如，红色）到后外侧区域的更抽象的维度（例如，颜色），再到额极的一般目标或背景（例如，颜色命名任务）。随后，对RFC局灶性损伤的神经系统患者的研究以及经颅磁刺激（TMS）对局灶性破坏的研究将测试这些RFC区域功能的必要性和独立性。此外，这些数据以及fMRI数据的功能连通性分析可以验证这样一个假设，即这种表征层次反映在RFC区域之间的关系中，在从上级到下级区域的处理流中实例化。关于RFC组织的基本知识可以为影响额叶的疾病提供重要的见解，并有助于制定指导性的临床评估，以索引执行功能。

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.