Parsing Executive Processes: Strategic vs. Evaluative Functions of the Anterior Cingulate Cortex

Event-related functional MRI and a version of the Stroop color naming task were used to test two conflicting theories of anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) function during executive processes of cognition. A response-related increase in ACC activity was present when strategic processes were less engage...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2000-02, Vol.97 (4), p.1944-1948
Main Authors: Carter, Cameron S., Macdonald, Angus M., Botvinick, Matthew, Ross, Laura L., Stenger, V. Andrew, Noll, Douglas, Cohen, Jonathan D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis of Variance
Association
Behavioral neuroscience
Biological Sciences
Cerebral Cortex - anatomy & histology
Cerebral Cortex - physiology
Cognition
Cognition & reasoning
Cognition - physiology
Color Perception Tests
Coordinate systems
Experimentation
Functional neuroimaging
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Mental stimulation
NMR
Nuclear magnetic resonance
Psychological tests
Psychology
Reaction Time
Stroop effect
Surprise
Theory
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Summary:Event-related functional MRI and a version of the Stroop color naming task were used to test two conflicting theories of anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) function during executive processes of cognition. A response-related increase in ACC activity was present when strategic processes were less engaged, and conflict high, but not when strategic processes were engaged and conflict reduced. This is inconsistent with the widely held view that the ACC implements strategic processes to reduce cognitive conflicts, such as response competition. Instead, it suggests that the ACC serves an evaluative function, detecting cognitive states such as response competition, which may lead to poor performance, and representing the knowledge that strategic processes need to be engaged.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.97.4.1944