Category-biased patches encircle core domain-general regions in the human lateral prefrontal cortex
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The fine-grained functional organization of the human lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) remains poorly understood. Previous fMRI studies delineated focal domain-general, or multiple-demand (MD), PFC areas that co-activate during diverse cognitively demanding tasks. While there is some evidence for category-selective (face and scene) patches, in human and non-human primate PFC, these have not been systematically assessed. Recent precision fMRI studies have also revealed sensory-biased PFC patches adjacent to MD regions. To investigate if this topographic arrangement extends to other domains, we analysed two independent fMRI datasets (n=449 and n=37) utilizing the high-resolution multimodal MRI approaches of the Human Connectome Project (HCP). Both datasets included cognitive control tasks and stimuli spanning different categories: faces, places, tools and body parts. Contrasting each stimulus category against the remaining ones revealed focal interdigitated patches of activity located adjacent to core MD regions. The face and place results were robust, replicating across different executive tasks, experimental designs (block and event-related) and at the single subject level. In one dataset, where participants performed both category and sensory tasks, place patches overlapped with visually biased regions, while face patches were positioned between visual and auditory biases. Our results paint a refined view of the fine-grained functional organization of the PFC, revealing a recurring motif of interdigitated domain-specific and domain-general circuits. This organization offers new constraints for models of cognitive control, cortical specialization and development.
Source: Neuropsychologia
Language: English
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,300
Awards: Bridging The Dual Facets of Working Memory: Causal Mapping of Active and Hidden States Using Brain Stimulation and Precision Imaging, G2914571744, Reconstructions and Representations of Cerebral Cortex, Mapping the Human Connectome: Structure, Function, and Heritability, G3594153814, G671614583, G765648614, G7842292070, Bridging The Dual Facets of Working Memory: Causal Mapping of Active and Hidden States Using Brain Stimulation and Precision Imaging, G9000001300
OpenAlex ID: W4410194132