Research article summary:

Switching attention and resolving interference: fMRI measures of executive functions.

Abstract Extract:
Is there a single executive process or are there multiple executive processes that work together towards the same goal in some task? In these experiments, we use counter switching and response inhibition tasks to examine the neural underpinnings of two ... (Full abstract text below)

Published 2003 in Journal: Neuropsychologia (Language : eng)

Full Pubmed Extract

This information was retrieved, real-time, on your behalf from the public area of the Pubmed website:

1. Neuropsychologia. 2003 ;41(3):357-70

Switching attention and resolving interference: fMRI measures of executive functions.

Sylvester CY, Wager TD, Lacey SC, Hernandez L, Nichols TE, Smith EE, Jonides J

Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 525 E University, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1109, USA. yunecs@umich.edu

Is there a single executive process or are there multiple executive processes that work together towards the same goal in some task? In these experiments, we use counter switching and response inhibition tasks to examine the neural underpinnings of two cognitive processes that have often been identified as potential executive processes: the switching of attention between tasks, and the resolution of interference between competing task responses. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), for both event-related and blocked design tasks, we find evidence for common neural areas across both tasks in bilateral parietal cortex (BA 40), left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC; BA 9), premotor cortex (BA 6) and medial frontal cortex (BA 6/32). However, we also find areas preferentially involved in the switching of attention between mental counts (BA 7, BA 18) and the inhibition of a prepotent motor response (BA 6, BA 10), respectively. These findings provide evidence for the separability of cognitive processes underlying executive control.

PMID : 12457760 [PubMed - Indexed for MEDLINE]

This information is obtained from the National Library of Medicine (NLM). Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright. Type "NLM copyright" into Google for more information.

Full Author Information

First Name	LastName	Initials
Ching-Yune C	Sylvester	CY
Tor D	Wager	TD
Steven C	Lacey	SC
Luis	Hernandez	L
Thomas E	Nichols	TE
Edward E	Smith	EE
John	Jonides	J

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 525 E University, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1109, USA. yunecs@umich.edu

3rd Party provider links

Click the links below to go to related 3rd party information:

MESH categories and related page links

This article was linked to the MESH categories shown on the left below. The links on the right are related Memletics pages.

Links for this article

For links to places where you can get the full text of this article see links. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text.

New! Using similar technology to this site, we have launched find-health-articles.com, targeting over 1 million health research article abstracts.

Here are some articles related to this one (by title keywords):

Forgetting to remember: the functional relationship of decay and interference.

Eliminating the cost of task set reconfiguration.

Effects of IQ on executive function measures in children with ADHD.

Vanishing dual-task interference after practice: has the bottleneck been eliminated or is it merely latent?

Positive mood and executive function: evidence from stroop and fluency tasks.

Nursing exploration summer camp: improving the image of nursing.

Medial temporal lobe activity during semantic classification using a flexible fMRI design.

Localization of executive functions in dual-task performance with fMRI.

Influence of age and executive functioning on verbal memory of inpatients with depression.

Impairment in activation of a frontal attention-switch mechanism in schizophrenic patients.

>>> Get more research article abstracts like these, or browse abstracts.

Keywords in this article:

across, areas, attention, ba, bilateral, blocked, cognitive, common, competing, cortex, counter, counts, design, dlpfc, dorsolateral, event, evidence, examine, executive, experiments, find, findings, fmri, functional, goal, identified, imaging, inhibition, interference, involved, left, magnetic, medial, mental, multiple, neural, or, parietal, potential, preferentially, prefrontal, premotor, prepotent, process, processes, provide, related, resolution, resonance, respectively, response, responses, same, separability, single, switching, task, tasks, together, towards, two, underlying, underpinnings, work

Also, see our new free speed reading online course (beta version)