BrainBlog

The following paper is available as an open full-download from PLoS. It provides an interesting example of the use of stop-signal tasks in pursuing a better understanding of executive functioning and its neuroanatomical correlates: Full publication Rule-guided executive control of response inhibition: functional topography of the inferior frontal cortex. PLoS One . 2011;6(6):e20840 Cai W, Leung HC Abstract BACKGROUND: The human inferior frontal cortex (IFC) is a large heterogeneous structure with distinct cytoarchitectonic subdivisions and fiber connections. It has been found involved in a wide range of executive control processes from target detection, rule retrieval to response control. Since these processes are often being studied separately, the functional organization of executive control processes within the IFC remains unclear. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We conducted an fMRI study to examine the activities of the subdivisions of IFC during the presentation of a task cue (ru...