Basic decision making

Executive function

An overarching term for high-level cognitive processes that enable goal-directed behaviour, including rule creation, maintenance, shifting, and control.

Lateral Prefrontal Cortex (LPFC)

• Region spanning inferior, middle, and superior frontal gyri; subdivided into dorsolateral (dlPFC) and ventrolateral (vlPFC) regions.

• Subjective self, autonoetic consciousness, humour, ToM.

Autonoetic consciousness

the ability to mentally place yourself in the past

Theory of mind

the ability to understand that others have beliefs, desires, intentions, emotions, and knowledge that differ from one’s own, enabling prediction and interpretation of their behaviour.

Dorsomedial Prefrontal Cortex (dmPFC)

Includes the anterior cingulate gyrus; critical for executive control, monitoring, and error detection and the manipulation of information

Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex (vmPFC)

Regions along the ventral midline crucial for decision-making and social cognition.

Initiation

The selection of desired behaviours

Inhibition

the suppression of unimportant or distracting behaviours.

Acquired sociopathy (orbitofrontal personality)

• unconcern for punishment, poor impulse control, and may (but not always) have insight.

•  Severe disinhibition from ventromedial PFC damage leading to blunted affect, emotional outbursts, and poor choices despite understanding social rules.

Orbitofrontal Cortex (OFC)

Ventral surface region of the prefrontal cortex involved in processing rewards and affective information.

Cognitive flexibility

The ability to adjust one’s thinking from old situations to new situations.

A not B task

• Used to assess cognitive flexibility in infants.

• Hide object at A repeatedly then switch to B.

Wisconsin card sorting

The participant must sort the cards to a hidden rule that changes after an X number of correct trials

Dysexecutive syndrome

Condition arising from lateral PFC damage, characterized by severe deficits in goal planning, task initiation, and attention despite intact intelligence and memory.

Disinhibition syndrome

Condition arising from ventral and medial PFC damage, marked by chaotic life behavior, social inappropriateness, impulsivity, and mania.

Aboulia

A neurological condition caused by lateral frontal damage, characterized by severe lethargy, lack of spontaneity, slow movement, and apathy.

Alien hand syndrome

• A neurological disorder in which the afflicted person’s hand appears to take on a mind of it’s own.

• Can occur through unilateral or bilateral damage to the frontal lobe.

• Can occur after damage to the frontal lobe and corpus callosum.

Working memory

Capacity-limited short-term information stores enabling the active maintenance and manipulation of rules and task-relevant information.

Frontopolar Cortex

The most anterior region of the prefrontal cortex, supporting higher-level rule integration and abstract goals.

Oddball task

Experimental task presenting infrequent target stimuli among standard stimuli to evoke a positive P300 ERP deflection.

Perseveration

• The persistent repetition of a previously valid behavioural rule despite negative feedback

• typical PFC damage

Reversal learning

The process of adapting behaviour to switched stimulus-reward contingencies, dependent on OFC function.