Cascade of neural processing orchestrates cognitive control in human frontal cortex
Hanlin Tang,
Hsiang-Yu Yu,
Chien-Chen Chou,
Nathan E Crone,
Joseph R Madsen,
William S Anderson,
Gabriel Kreiman
Affiliations
Hanlin Tang
Program in Biophysics, Harvard University, Boston, United States; Department of Ophthalmology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States
Hsiang-Yu Yu
Department of Neurology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
Chien-Chen Chou
Department of Neurology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
Nathan E Crone
Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, United States
Joseph R Madsen
Department of Neurosurgery, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States
William S Anderson
Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins Medical School, Baltimore, United States
Program in Biophysics, Harvard University, Boston, United States; Department of Ophthalmology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States; Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Boston, United States
Rapid and flexible interpretation of conflicting sensory inputs in the context of current goals is a critical component of cognitive control that is orchestrated by frontal cortex. The relative roles of distinct subregions within frontal cortex are poorly understood. To examine the dynamics underlying cognitive control across frontal regions, we took advantage of the spatiotemporal resolution of intracranial recordings in epilepsy patients while subjects resolved color-word conflict. We observed differential activity preceding the behavioral responses to conflict trials throughout frontal cortex; this activity was correlated with behavioral reaction times. These signals emerged first in anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) before dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), followed by medial frontal cortex (mFC) and then by orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). These results disassociate the frontal subregions based on their dynamics, and suggest a temporal hierarchy for cognitive control in human cortex.
