Adaptive ability to cope with atypical or novel situations involving tool use: an fMRI approach.
We investigated the neural mechanisms underlying the ability to cope in atypical or novel situations using tools. We hypothesized that two cognitive components support this ability: adaptive coordination (for adapting to situational demands) and cognitive inhibition (for inhibiting the incongruent actions afforded by tools). We had subjects choose novel tools for a given task or choose among familiar tools in an atypical situation, during which we examined cortical activation in their brains using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Neural activation during adaptive coordination was observed in the left lateral orbitofrontal cortex, inferior frontal gyrus and sulcus, middle and medial frontal gyrus, intraparietal sulcus, precentral sulcus, inferior temporal gyrus, supramarginal gyrus, the bilateral insula, anterior cingulate cortex, and the right callosal sulcus. Activation indicating cognitive inhibition was observed in the right middle and inferior frontal gyrus. These findings demonstrate that the left parietal region shapes basic action, whereas the right frontal region inhibits stereotypical action. The left frontal regions are thought to be linked to the processing of ambiguous actions and play key roles in coordinating actions, whereas other regions are involved in processing situational contexts. Our results may be important for understanding the neural systems underlying adaptability to daily social situations.
Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8575, Japan; Research Center for Child Mental Development, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu 431-3192, Japan. Electronic address: kwakusawa@idac.tohoku.ac.jp.
Keisuke
K
Wakusawa
Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8575, Japan; International Research Institute of Disaster Science, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8579, Japan.
Motoaki
M
Sugiura
Division of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8575, Japan.
Yuko
Y
Sassa
Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8575, Japan.
Hyeonjeong
H
Jeong
Tamagawa University Brain Science Institute, Tokyo 194-8610, Japan; Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo 102-0083, Japan.
Yukihito
Y
Yomogida
The Graduate School of Language and Cultures, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan.
Kaoru
K
Horie
Professor Emeritus, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8575, Japan.
Shigeru
S
Sato
Department of Psychiatric Nursing School of Nursing, Yamagata University Faculty of Medicine, Yamagata 990-9585, Japan.
Hiroyuki
H
Yokoyama
Department of Pediatrics, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai 980-0872, Japan.
Shigeo
S
Kure
Research Center for Child Mental Development, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu 431-3192, Japan.
Noriyoshi
N
Takei
Research Center for Child Mental Development, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu 431-3192, Japan; Department of Psychiatry, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu 431-3192, Japan.
Norio
N
Mori
Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8575, Japan; Division of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8575, Japan.
Ryuta
R
Kawashima
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000502:physiology*; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
Adaptive coordination; Cognitive inhibition; Coping ability; Tool; fMRI