Distinguished Lecture Series: John Duncan (Cambridge)
Nota bene: There will be an opportunity for doctoral students to meet with the speaker on Thursday, 26 February, 17.00-18.00.
Venue: Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Luisenstraße 56, Seminarraum 123 (ground floor)
In specific regions of frontal and parietal cortex, neuroimaging shows a pattern of multiple-demand (MD) activity - increased activation associated with many different cognitive demands. In the frontal lobe, MD activity is seen in and around the inferior frontal sulcus, in the frontal operculum/anterior insula, and in the anterior cingulate/supplementary motor area. Similar activity is also seen along the intraparietal sulcus.
Neurophysiological data from behaving monkeys suggest that MD regions constitute a flexible working memory, constructing and holding together the facts, rules and requirements bearing on current behaviour. Analysis of fMRI adaptation data suggests similar properties in human MD regions. A primary purpose of working memory should be to guide processing through the successive steps of a mental program, maintaining and attending to just that information that each step requires. Using single cell electrophysiology, we examine the role of prefrontal cortex in construction and control of mental programs. The data show rapid re-tuning of frontal neurons as the animal moves from one phase to the next of sequential activity. Transitions between task phases are mirrored by corresponding, sequential transitions between states of frontal activity. At each stage, there is selective representation of task-relevant stimulus distinctions. The results match classical views of frontal guidance of sequential behaviour.
MD activity is also characteristic of standard tests of “fluid intelligence” or Spearman’s g. In behavioural experiments, g is closely associated with goal neglect, or loss of one task requirement from active working memory. In large part, g may reflect the function of MD regions in constructon and control of sequential mental programs.
Professor John Duncan, MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge
Map and Directions to Lecture Hall (pdf 105 kb)
All are welcome!
