Abstract
Cognitive control is necessary to flexibly act in changing environments. Sequence processing is needed in language comprehension to build the syntactic structure in sentences. Functional imaging studies suggest that sequence processing engages the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (PFC). In contrast, cognitive control processes additionally recruit bilateral rostral lateral PFC regions. The present study aimed to investigate these two types of processes in one experimental paradigm. Sequence processing was manipulated using two different sequencing rules varying in complexity. Cognitive control was varied with different cue-sets that determined the choice of a sequencing rule. Univariate analyses revealed distinct PFC regions for the two types of processing (i.e. sequence processing: left ventrolateral PFC and cognitive control processing: bilateral dorsolateral and rostral PFC). Moreover, in a common brain network (including left lateral PFC and intraparietal sulcus) no interaction between sequence and cognitive control processing was observed. In contrast, a multivariate pattern analysis revealed an interaction of sequence and cognitive control processing, such that voxels in left lateral PFC and parietal cortex showed different tuning functions for tasks involving different sequencing and cognitive control demands. These results suggest that the difference between the process of rule selection (i.e. cognitive control) and the process of rule-based sequencing (i.e. sequence processing) find their neuronal underpinnings in distinct activation patterns in lateral PFC. Moreover, the combination of rule selection and rule sequencing can shape the response of neurons in lateral PFC and parietal cortex.
Highlights
The lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) is linked to a variety of functions like cognitive control [1], working memory [2], rule learning [3], or language processing [4]
Voxel tuning analysis First, we investigated the number of voxels tuned to one of the four conditions (i.e. contextual-cue and grammar-task (CG), contextual-cue and count-task (CC) episodic-cue and grammar-task (EG), and episodic-cue and count-task (EC))
The overall tuning success of the four different experimental conditions was investigated. In this analysis we explored how well the classifier does in detecting voxels in a regions of interest (ROIs) that are tuned for one condition
Summary
The lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) is linked to a variety of functions like cognitive control [1], working memory [2], rule learning [3], or language processing [4]. Cognitive control relates to the ability to work towards internal goals, while differentiating between conflicting thoughts or actions [5]. Abstraction in cognitive control can be investigated using task updating [7] or inhibition experiments [8], or working memory maintenance [9]. These tasks typically engaged mid lateral PFC regions, like inferior frontal sulcus (IFS), inferior frontal junction (IFJ), or middle frontal gyrus (MFG). Complex abstraction in cognitive control, like relational reasoning [10], sub-goal monitoring [11], or maintaining task-sets over time [12,13] recruited rostral lateral PFC regions
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
