Cognitive Neuroscience Lecture 30: Executive Functions & Cognitive Control

What does the Go/No-Go task measure?

Inhibitory control and impulsivity.

How does the Go/No-Go task work?

Participants respond to frequent "Go" stimuli but must inhibit their response to infrequent "No-Go" stimuli.

What brain region is critical for inhibitory control in the Go/No-Go task?

The right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) / right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG).

Which other brain regions interact with the VLPFC to support inhibitory control?

The basal ganglia and medial premotor areas.

What is impulsivity in the context of the Go/No-Go task?

A tendency to favor immediate actions or rewards, often without sufficient control.

What is the primary role of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in behavior?

It enables cognitive control, allowing us to override automatic behaviors and act based on current/long-term goals, rules, or values (based on plans, rules, motivation, values, reward, etc.).

How is the PFC different from the SMA/premotor cortex?

The PFC controls goal-directed behavior and decision-making, while the SMA/premotor cortex handles motor coordination.

What does the Supervisory Attentional System (SAS) model describe?

A system that allows online control and attention, helping us override automatic actions.

How is the PFC different from the SMA/premotor cortex?

The PFC controls goal-directed behavior and decision-making, while the SMA/premotor cortex handles motor coordination.

What does the Supervisory Attentional System (SAS) model describe?

A system that allows online control and attention, helping us override automatic actions.

What distinction does the Norman & Shallice (1986) model make in behavior?

Between automatic (autopilot) behaviors and those requiring controlled, intentional action.

What type of actions do patients with cognitive control deficits typically struggle with?

They struggle with actions that require attention, intention, or online control, but can still perform automatic or externally triggered actions.

What are the control functions of the PFC?

Selecting, prioritizing, and maintaining goal-relevant behavior while suppressing inappropriate or habitual responses.

What is a schema?

An organized set of familiar actions or routines that can be triggered automatically with little or no conscious control.

What is an object-based schema?

A schema linked to specific objects (e.g., a fork or toothbrush) that automatically triggers a well-learned behavior.

What is a script in the context of schemas?

A hierarchical collection of related schemas used to complete familiar tasks in sequence.

What is the contention scheduling system?

The automatic competition between activated schemas for behavioral output, without the need for conscious control.

What does the Supervisory Attentional System (SAS) do?

It overrides automatic behavior, enabling actions that are goal-directed, flexible, and intentional.

How does the SAS exert control over schemas?

By providing top-down bias to increase or decrease the activation of specific schemas

Can the SAS activate weak schemas or inhibit strong ones?

Yes. -can prioritize less active schemas or suppress highly activated but inappropriate schemas.

What role does the prefrontal cortex (PFC) play in behavior?

It is essential for selecting goal-relevant actions and inhibiting inappropriate or automatic responses.

Which part of the PFC is especially involved in inhibiting incorrect responses?

The right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG) or right ventrolateral PFC (VLPFC).

How does the PFC interact with other brain regions to control action?

It supervises the basal ganglia and premotor areas to coordinate goal-directed behavior.

What is task-switching in terms of schema control?

Discarding the current schema and activating a new one, which requires effortful, intentional control by the SAS.

Why is task-switching considered cognitively costly?

Because implementing control takes time and effort, often resulting in reduced performance efficiency.

What does multi-tasking involve?

Coordinating multiple tasks, maintaining both current and future goals, and monitoring performance — heavily reliant on PFC control.

How is the posterior-to-anterior organization of the PFC structured?

Posterior regions: Support concrete, short-term tasks

Anterior regions: Support abstract, long-term goals and planning

Why is multi-tasking often less efficient than it feels?

Because task-switching has a hidden cost, even if it feels easy — performance usually declines across tasks.

What is schema output typically like?

Automatic, well-learned, and efficient.

What does task-switching require the brain to do?

Discard or inhibit the current schema and activate a new one, engaging intentional cognitive control.

Why is task-switching considered cognitively costly?

Because it requires effortful control, and the brain must interrupt ongoing automatic processes, which reduces performance efficiency.

What is a real-life example of task-switching cost?

Replying to a text while doing another task may feel easy, but it often slows performance or increases errors.

How is the prefrontal cortex (PFC) organized?

In a posterior-to-anterior hierarchical structure, supporting increasingly abstract and long-term goal-directed behavior.

What do more posterior regions of the PFC support?

Concrete, short-duration actions, such as executing simple, specific tasks.

What do more anterior regions of the PFC support?

Abstract, long-term planning and goal management, often involving complex multi-tasking.

What is the role of the primary motor cortex in the frontal lobe?

It supports concrete, domain-specific motor behaviors, closely linked to physical action execution.

How do functions change as you move anteriorly in the frontal cortex?

They become less concrete and more abstract, involving internal processes like planning, motivation, and self-control.

What research method is used to identify brain regions involved in successful encoding?

The subsequent memory design, which tracks brain activity during encoding to see what predicts later recall.

Which region of the PFC is involved in verbal encoding?

The left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC), including Broca's Area.

What type of processing is the left VLPFC associated with during encoding?

Which classic theory is supported by the finding that left VLPFC activity during encoding predicts better memory for verbal information?

The levels-of-processing model, states that deeper, semantic processing leads to better long-term memory.

Is PFC encoding function material-specific?

Yes.

Left VLPFC

linked to verbal information

Right VLPFC

linked to spatial or object-based information

What cognitive function is the right hemisphere especially involved in?

Visuo-spatial processing.

What are some right-hemisphere structures involved in visuo-spatial memory and attention?

Parietal lobe

Frontal-parietal attention network

Hippocampus

Right PFC

Parietal lobe

hemi-spatial neglect

Hippocampus

spatial memory

Right PFC

control of spatial/object encoding for LTM