The role of medial-prefrontal neural systems in cognitive flexibility

认知灵活性是人类认知的一个定义方面，对于平衡表现需求、管理信念的形成和修正以及监控自己的行为和表现是必不可少的。认知灵活性的功能磁共振成像(FMRI)研究一致地报告背侧前扣带回皮质(DACC)的激活。然而，dACC在认知灵活性方面的确切作用仍在辩论中，dACC被激活的广泛情况突显了这一挑战。对连接到dACC的神经网络也知之甚少，以及这些神经网络如何在需要认知灵活性的各种条件下变化或保持稳定。该研究计划的目的是明确dACC在一系列需要认知灵活性的情况下的共同作用，并绘制出它的神经联系。鉴于dACC被认为涉及改变行为、改变信念以及维持自我和他人反思之间的平衡，更好地理解这一大脑区域的功能及其联系，对于理解人类行为至关重要。这项研究对治疗也有明确的启示；例如，在某些临床人群中，如精神分裂症和自闭症患者的信念形成和自我监控受到损害。

Cognitive flexibility is a defining aspect of human cognition, and is essential for balancing performance demands, managing belief formation and revision, and monitoring one's own behaviour and performance. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies of cognitive flexibility consistently report activation of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC). However, the precise role of the dACC in cognitive flexibility is under debate, and this challenge is underscored by the wide range of situations for which the dACC is activated. Also poorly understood are the neural networks that are connected to the dACC, and how these change or remain stable under various conditions requiring cognitive flexibility. The aim of the research program is to specify the common role of the dACC under a range of situations requiring cognitive flexibility, and to map out its neural connections. Given that the dACC is proposed to be involved in switching behaviour, changing beliefs, and maintaining a balance between self- and other-reflection, a better understanding of the function of this brain region, and its connections, is of critical importance for understanding human behaviour. This research also has clear implications for treatment; for example, belief formation and self-monitoring are impaired in certain clinical populations such as schizophrenia and autism.