title: Processing of time within the prefrontal cortex: recent time engages posterior areas whereas distant time engages anterior areas.
abstract: Studies of prefrontal cortex (PFC) lesion patients suggest that information conveying high immediacy, certainty, or tangibility engages the more posterior part of the PFC, whereas information that is more abstract or complex engages the anterior part. We examined whether the anterior and posterior subdivisions of the PFC have distinct roles in processing temporal information during decision making in healthy individuals. We hypothesized that the more the locus of activation is in the posterior (as opposed to anterior) PFC, the more the decision maker will be affected by recent information at the expense of past outcomes. Participants performed a complex decision task while their PFC activity was monitored using fMRI. Results indicate that individual differences in the effect of recent outcomes correspond to differences in the locus of activation, with elevated recency associated with more posterior loci of activation.
authors: Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, CA 90089-2520, USA. koritzky@usc.edu
authors: Gilly
authors: G
authors: Koritzky
authors: Qinghua
authors: Q
authors: He
authors: Gui
authors: G
authors: Xue
authors: Savio
authors: S
authors: Wong
authors: Lin
authors: L
authors: Xiao
authors: Antoine
authors: A
authors: Bechara
mesh_terms: D001931:Brain Mapping; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D013998:Time Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult