title: Executive "brake failure" following deactivation of human frontal lobe.
abstract: In the course of daily living, humans frequently encounter situations in which a motor activity, once initiated, becomes unnecessary or inappropriate. Under such circumstances, the ability to inhibit motor responses can be of vital importance. Although the nature of response inhibition has been studied in psychology for several decades, its neural basis remains unclear. Using transcranial magnetic stimulation, we found that temporary deactivation of the pars opercularis in the right inferior frontal gyrus selectively impairs the ability to stop an initiated action. Critically, deactivation of the same region did not affect the ability to execute responses, nor did it influence physiological arousal. These findings confirm and extend recent reports that the inferior frontal gyrus is vital for mediating response inhibition.
authors.affiliation: University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia. chris.chambers@ucl.ac.uk
authors.forename: Christopher D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Chambers
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Bellgrove
authors.forename: Mark G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Stokes
authors.forename: Tracy R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Henderson
authors.forename: Hugh
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Garavan
authors.forename: Ian H
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Robertson
authors.forename: Adam P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Morris
authors.forename: Jason B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Mattingley
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001143:Arousal; D001334:Automobile Driving; D005260:Female; D005403:Fixation, Ocular; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011930:Reaction Time; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis