The role of the frontal cortex in task preparation.
The ability to prepare a task is crucial for the voluntary control of our actions. It enables us to react flexibly and rapidly to a changing environment. In the present event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging study we investigated task preparation with a task-cueing paradigm. In this paradigm we intermixed trials in which a task cue and a target were presented with trials in which only the task cue was presented. Analysis of these cue-only trials allowed us to isolate task-preparation related control from execution-related control processes. By means of this paradigm, we could demonstrate that a frontal network was related to task preparation. Further analysis revealed that the fronto-lateral cortex at the junction of precentral sulcus and inferior frontal sulcus and the presupplementary motor area are the crucial frontal components in task preparation.
Brass
Marcel
M
Max Planck Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Leipzig, Germany. brass@cnns.mpg.de
von Cramon
D Yves
DY
D000328:Adult; D003463:Cues; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology*