Work

Neural implementation of response selection in humans as revealed by localized effects of stimulus–response compatibility on brain activation

Year: 2002

Type: article

Abstract: Response selection, which involves choosing representations for appropriate motor behaviors given one's current situation, is a fundamental mental process central to a wide variety of human performance, yet the neural mechanisms underlying this mental process remain unclear. Research using nonhuman primates implicates ventral prefrontal and lateral premotor cortices in this process. In contrast, human neuroimaging research also highlights the role of dorsal prefrontal, anterior cingulate, and superior parietal cortices in response selection. This inconsistency may stem from the difficulty of isolating response selection within the constraints of cognitive subtraction methodology utilized in neuroimaging. We overcome this limitation by using an experimental procedure designed to selectively influence discrete mental processing stages and analyses that are less reliant on the assumptions of cognitive subtraction. We varied stimulus contrast to affect stimulus encoding and stimulus-response compatibility to affect response selection. Brain activation data suggest processing specific to response selection in superior parietal and dorsal prefrontal cortices, and not ventral prefrontal cortex. Anterior cingulate and lateral premotor cortices may also be involved in response selection, or these regions may mediate other response processes.

Source: Human Brain Mapping

DOI: 10.1002/hbm.10063

Authors: Eric H. Schumacher, Mark D'Esposito

Institution: University of California, Berkeley

Language: English

Topic: Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies

Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Award: G510773483