How we use rules to select actions: A review of evidence from cognitive neuroscience

Much of our behavior is guided by rules, or prescribed guides for action. In this review, I consider the current state of knowledge of how rules are learned, stored in the brain, and retrieved and used as the need arises. The focus is primarily on studies in humans, but the review is informed by rel...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cognitive, affective, & behavioral neuroscience affective, & behavioral neuroscience, 2004-12, Vol.4 (4), p.564-579
Main Author: BUNGE, Silvia A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anatomical correlates of behavior
Behavioral psychophysiology
Biological and medical sciences
Cognition - physiology
Cues
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Learning - physiology
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Memory
Monkeys & apes
Motor Cortex - physiology
Neurosciences
Neurosciences - methods
Prefrontal Cortex - anatomy & histology
Prefrontal Cortex - physiology
Primates
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Reaction Time - physiology
Temporal Lobe - physiology
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Summary:Much of our behavior is guided by rules, or prescribed guides for action. In this review, I consider the current state of knowledge of how rules are learned, stored in the brain, and retrieved and used as the need arises. The focus is primarily on studies in humans, but the review is informed by relevant studies in nonhuman primates. Ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) has been implicated in rule learning, retrieval from long-term memory, and on-line maintenance during task preparation. Interactions between VLPFC and temporal cortex are required for rule retrieval in nonhuman primates, and brain imaging findings in humans suggest that rule knowledge is stored in the posterior middle temporal gyrus. Dorsolateral PFC appears to be more closely related to rule-based response selection than to rule retrieval. An important task for the future is to explain how PFC, basal ganglia, and temporal, parietal, and motor cortices interact to produce rule-guided behavior.
ISSN:1530-7026
1531-135X
DOI:10.3758/cabn.4.4.564