The hierarchical organization of the lateral prefrontal cortex
Higher-level cognition depends on the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC), but its functional organization has remained elusive. An influential proposal is that the LPFC is organized hierarchically whereby progressively rostral areas of the LPFC process/represent increasingly abstract information facil...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
2016-03-01
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| Series: | eLife |
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| Online Access: | https://elifesciences.org/articles/12112 |
| _version_ | 1811227411478478848 |
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| author | Derek Evan Nee Mark D'Esposito |
| author_facet | Derek Evan Nee Mark D'Esposito |
| author_sort | Derek Evan Nee |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Higher-level cognition depends on the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC), but its functional organization has remained elusive. An influential proposal is that the LPFC is organized hierarchically whereby progressively rostral areas of the LPFC process/represent increasingly abstract information facilitating efficient and flexible cognition. However, support for this theory has been limited. Here, human fMRI data revealed rostral/caudal gradients of abstraction in the LPFC. Dynamic causal modeling revealed asymmetrical LPFC interactions indicative of hierarchical processing. Contrary to dominant assumptions, the relative strength of efferent versus afferent connections positioned mid LPFC as the apex of the hierarchy. Furthermore, cognitive demands induced connectivity modulations towards mid LPFC consistent with a role in integrating information for control operations. Moreover, the strengths of these dynamics were related to trait-measured higher-level cognitive ability. Collectively, these results suggest that the LPFC is hierarchically organized with the mid LPFC positioned to synthesize abstract and concrete information to control behavior. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T09:42:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4a7f89e099f74a10966db4d43cf9ddea |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-084X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T09:42:10Z |
| publishDate | 2016-03-01 |
| publisher | eLife Sciences Publications Ltd |
| record_format | Article |
| series | eLife |
| spelling | doaj.art-4a7f89e099f74a10966db4d43cf9ddea2022-12-22T03:38:03ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2016-03-01510.7554/eLife.12112The hierarchical organization of the lateral prefrontal cortexDerek Evan Nee0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7858-6871Mark D'Esposito1Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, United States; Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, United StatesHelen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, United States; Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, United StatesHigher-level cognition depends on the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC), but its functional organization has remained elusive. An influential proposal is that the LPFC is organized hierarchically whereby progressively rostral areas of the LPFC process/represent increasingly abstract information facilitating efficient and flexible cognition. However, support for this theory has been limited. Here, human fMRI data revealed rostral/caudal gradients of abstraction in the LPFC. Dynamic causal modeling revealed asymmetrical LPFC interactions indicative of hierarchical processing. Contrary to dominant assumptions, the relative strength of efferent versus afferent connections positioned mid LPFC as the apex of the hierarchy. Furthermore, cognitive demands induced connectivity modulations towards mid LPFC consistent with a role in integrating information for control operations. Moreover, the strengths of these dynamics were related to trait-measured higher-level cognitive ability. Collectively, these results suggest that the LPFC is hierarchically organized with the mid LPFC positioned to synthesize abstract and concrete information to control behavior.https://elifesciences.org/articles/12112PFCcognitive controlhierarchyexecutive functionworking memoryfMRI |
| spellingShingle | Derek Evan Nee Mark D'Esposito The hierarchical organization of the lateral prefrontal cortex eLife PFC cognitive control hierarchy executive function working memory fMRI |
| title | The hierarchical organization of the lateral prefrontal cortex |
| title_full | The hierarchical organization of the lateral prefrontal cortex |
| title_fullStr | The hierarchical organization of the lateral prefrontal cortex |
| title_full_unstemmed | The hierarchical organization of the lateral prefrontal cortex |
| title_short | The hierarchical organization of the lateral prefrontal cortex |
| title_sort | hierarchical organization of the lateral prefrontal cortex |
| topic | PFC cognitive control hierarchy executive function working memory fMRI |
| url | https://elifesciences.org/articles/12112 |
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