Executive Function

Cognitive Control

Mechanisms allowing for goal-directed, flexible behavior. contrasting with automatic habits.

Frontal Lobe Syndrome

Characterized by apathy, impulsivity (disinhibition), perseveration, and poor metacognition .

Automatic Processing

Effortless, stereotyped, invariant, and difficult to stop once started.

Controlled Processing

Effortful, flexible, and variable

Supervisory Attention System (SAS)

Slow, flexible mechanism used for novelty or when learned schemas fail.

Contention Scheduling

Fast, automatic selection of action schemas based on perceptual triggers.

Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (WCST)

A classic test of set shifting, inhibition, and rule maintenance.

Task Set

Internal rules determining which information is relevant and how to act

Lateral PFC Organization

Organized by abstraction: posterior (caudal) is concrete/sensory. anterior (rostral) is abstract/contextual .

Cingulo-Opercular Network

Involved in monitoring performance, maintaining task sets, and motivating behavior.

Error-Related Negativity (ERN)

Electrical activity following an error, potentially from the rostral anterior cingulate.

Motivation and ACC

The anterior cingulate cortex handles reward/effort trade-offs. damage can lead to apathy .

Inhibition Biology

The right inferior frontal cortex (rIFC) is specifically associated with inhibiting prepotent responses.

Action Disorganization Syndrome

Errors in sequencing behaviors or using correct objects for goals.