wk8: cognitive control I

Flashcards covering key concepts from the lecture on cognitive control, including its definition, functions, associated brain areas, and implications in disorders.

What is cognitive control?

Executive functions that allow individuals to respond to changing environments and perform appropriate goal-directed actions.

What are the key functions involved in cognitive control?

Inhibiting habitual responses, predicting outcomes, evaluating rewards, selecting goals, initiating actions, monitoring behaviours, and learning from outcomes.

What does the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test measure?

It measures the ability to adapt to changing rules and demonstrates cognitive flexibility.

What characterizes Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)?

OCD is characterized by maladaptive patterns of repetitive, inflexible cognition and behaviour due to a lack of cognitive flexibility.

What is the role of the lateral prefrontal cortex and frontal pole in cognitive control?

It processes information in working memory and is involved in planning, initiating, inhibiting, and adapting behavior.

What is the role of the medial frontal cortex in cognitive control?

Monitoring and maintaining goal-directed behaviour.

What is the significance of dopamine in cognitive control?

Dopamine plays a role in reward processing and learning, impacting goal-directed behaviour.

What are the physiological correlates of working memory?

Working memory (STM) is associated with sustained activation in the prefrontal cortex.

What is the hypothesis neurons encode specific stimulus features based on?

Neurons in the lateral PFC selectively respond to tasks; activity decreases when stimuli are irrelevant, influenced by attention.

How is the Ventrolateral PFC involved in working memory?

Maintenance - retrieves information from LTM and holds it for the duration of a task.

How is the Dorsolateral PFC involved in working memory?

Manipulation - integrates and manipulates information to meet goals

How is the Rostral LPFC (most anterior) involved in working memory?

Most abstract - handles tasks that change over time (shifting rules)

How is the Caudal LPFC (middle) involved in working memory?

Contextual - responds based on situational context

How is the Premotor Cortex (most posterior) involved in working memory?

Most concrete - maps stimuli directly to responses/actions, helping coordinate appropriate motor actions based on information held in working memory.

What is the relationship between cognitive control and working memory?

Cognitive control relies on working memory to manage task-related information and support goal-directed actions.

Which parts of the brain are involved in cognitive control?

Prefrontal cortex, basal ganglia and brainstem nuclei.

How is the prefrontal cortex functionally organised?

Along 3 axes, which include lateral-medial, dorsal-ventral, and anterior-posterior.

How is the Anterior-Posterior axis in working memory organised?

Hierarchy of abstraction from front to back (Rostral, Caudal to Premotor Cortex)

How is the Lateral-Medial axis in working memory organised?

It distinguishes lateral regions for external context and medial regions for internal experiences and emotions.