How May Prefrontal Cortex Networks Mediate Cognitive Control and Executive Functions?
Cognitive Control & Executive Functions
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Cognitive Control (CC) is the coordination of mental processes and actions to adapt to relevant goals and is a primary function supported by the prefrontal cortex (see coloured areas in figure on the right, adapted from [1])
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CC is meant to capture the same abilities as executive function (EF) in the clinical literature, which is the set of processes that manifest control over other component cognitive abilities, such that cognitive resources are utilized effectively [2]
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CC and EF are crucial in efficiently carrying out goal-directed behaviours such as planning, reasoning, decision-making, and problem-solving, which are important to the everyday functioning of an organism
Component Psychological Constructs
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Although models of CC have been proposed with different organisations and hierarchies, factor-analytic studies consistently show that CC includes three constructs which show both unity and diversity: general or common CC, working memory, and set-shifting or cognitive flexibility (see figure on the left, adapted from [1]):
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The common CC factor has a strong relationship with inhibitory control as they are seen as the same factor in many models of CC
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Inhibitory control refers to the process of preventing an automatic or prepotent response in accordance to the current goal [3]
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Working memory refers to a limited capacity cognitive system that enables the temporary storage and manipulation of information [4]
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Cognitive flexibility or set-shifting is the ability to flexibly switch between cognitive tasks or concepts in reasoning [5]
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Recently, a systematic developmental model of EF was proposed and would better encompass the changes in the structure during development: from one that is largely unified and recruits a common neural network in early-to-middle childhood, to one that involves more diverse components that each recruits specific neural networks [6]
Outstanding Questions & Research Directions
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Components of CC/EF are identified using factor-analytic statistics as the dominant approach in psychometrics, based on behavioural evidence [1]; how does CC operate at the algorithmic and mechanistic levels in the brain? Specifically, how do functionally and anatomically segregated neural networks work together to produce CC?
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It is observed that the operation of CC changes from a single common factor and global neural activation, to separated factors associated with specialised and localised neural activation [6]; does this change take place at a constant rate? Is the differentiation simultaneous for both working memory and cognitive flexibility?
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Like intelligence and many other cognitive processes, genome-wide association studies showed that CC develops under the additive influence of thousands of genes, each exerting minimal influence; how do specific genes work together during CC development? How does the environment impact the expression of those genes through epigenetic changes?
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How can CC be incorporated into an integrated account of cognition from perception to action? What are the theoretical and practical implications?