title: Isolation of a central bottleneck of information processing with time-resolved FMRI.
abstract: When humans attempt to perform two tasks at once, execution of the first task usually leads to postponement of the second one. This task delay is thought to result from a bottleneck occurring at a central, amodal stage of information processing that precludes two response selection or decision-making operations from being concurrently executed. Using time-resolved functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), here we present a neural basis for such dual-task limitations, e.g. the inability of the posterior lateral prefrontal cortex, and possibly the superior medial frontal cortex, to process two decision-making operations at once. These results suggest that a neural network of frontal lobe areas acts as a central bottleneck of information processing that severely limits our ability to multitask.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Center for Integrative and Cognitive Neurosciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37203, USA.
authors.forename: Paul E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Dux
authors.forename: Jason
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ivanoff
authors.forename: Christopher L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Asplund
authors.forename: René
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Marois
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000502:physiology*; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008606:Mental Processes / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D011340:Problem Solving / Q000502:physiology; D011897:Random Allocation; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors