Investigating prefrontal contributions to source and temporal order memory for faces and words

前额叶皮层（PFC）包括人类额叶的大部分，并且已知对于调节将人类与其他灵长类动物区分开来的受控、灵活、更高的认知能力是重要的。其中一种更高的认知能力是编码和选择我们过去个人经历的高度详细描述的能力。这种类型的记忆被称为情景记忆（EM）。神经影像学研究已经确定了区域差异PFC参与检索过程中：项目信息（识别记忆），空间/知觉的细节，有关一个人的个人过去（源记忆）和时间的细节，有关一个人的个人过去（时序记忆），分别。然而，关于这些不同的PFC区域分别贡献了哪些认知过程，以及这些过程在本质上是否是EM特异性的，或者与更一般的认知控制或“执行”过程有关，例如：在记忆形成和检索过程中基于规则的信息组织（战略组织），任务目标的在线维护，响应协调和响应监测，仅举几例。目前的研究项目的目标是调查特定区域的PFC EM检索的贡献。具体而言，本研究将使用一种创新的脑成像技术：事件相关功能磁共振成像，检查在线区域PFC活动的变化，健康的成年志愿者进行源，时间顺序，项目记忆任务的口头和非口头（脸）刺激。检索时呈现的刺激数量和所需的运动反应数量将在任务中进行参数化操纵，并将分别控制策略组织和反应协调过程。用于反应监测过程的刺激+运动反应控制的组合参数操纵。从这个建议的结果将有助于确定是否有在PFC中的子区域，差异相关的上述执行过程，一致的，跨上下文记忆任务和跨刺激类型。

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) comprises most of the human frontal lobes and is known to be important for mediating controlled, flexible, higher cognitive abilities that differentiate human beings from other primates. One such higher cognitive ability, is the ability to encode and recollect highly detailed accounts of our past personal experiences. This type of memory is referred to episodic memory (EM). Neuroimaging studies have identified regional differences in PFC involvement during the retrieval of: item information (recognition memory), spatial/perceptual details pertaining to one's personal past (source memory) and temporal details pertaining to one's personal past (temporal order memory), respectively. However, there is much debate over what cognitive processes these distinct PFC regions contribute, respectively, and whether these processes are EM-specific in nature, or related to more general cognitive control or "executive" processes, such as: rule-based organization of information during memory formation and retrieval(strategic organization), on-line maintenance of task goals, response coordination and response monitoring, to name a few. The goal of the current research project is to investigate the region-specific contributions of PFC to EM retrieval. Specifically, this research will use an innovative brain imaging technique: event-related fMRI, to examine on-line regional changes in PFC activity as healthy adult volunteers perform source, temporal order, and item memory tasks for verbal and non-verbal (face) stimuli. The number of stimuli presented at retrieval, and the number of motor responses required, will be parametrically manipulated across tasks, and will control for strategic organization and response coordination processes, respectively. The combined parametric manipulation of stimulus+motor response controls for response monitoring processes. Results from this proposal will help determine whether there are subregions in PFC that are differentially related to the aforementioned executive processes,  consistently, across context memory tasks and across stimulus type.