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Prefrontal dynamics underlying rapid instructed task learning reverse with practice.

ABSTRACT: The ability to rapidly reconfigure our minds to perform novel tasks is important for adapting to an ever-changing world, yet little is understood about its basis in the brain. Furthermore, it is unclear how this kind of task preparation changes with practice. Previous research suggests that prefrontal cortex (PFC) is essential when preparing to perform either novel or practiced tasks. Building upon recent evidence that PFC is organized in an anterior-to-posterior hierarchy, we postulated that novel and practiced task preparation would differentiate hierarchically distinct regions within PFC across time. Specifically, we hypothesized and confirmed using functional magnetic resonance imaging and magnetoencephalography with humans that novel task preparation is a bottom-up process that involves lower-level rule representations in dorsolateral PFC (DLPFC) before a higher-level rule-integrating task representation in anterior PFC (aPFC). In contrast, we identified a complete reversal of this activity pattern during practiced task preparation. Specifically, we found that practiced task preparation is a top-down process that involves a higher-level rule-integrating task representation (recalled from long-term memory) in aPFC before lower-level rule representations in DLPFC. These findings reveal two distinct yet highly inter-related mechanisms for task preparation, one involving task set formation from instructions during rapid instructed task learning and the other involving task set retrieval from long-term memory to facilitate familiar task performance. These two mechanisms demonstrate the exceptional flexibility of human PFC as it rapidly reconfigures cognitive brain networks to implement a wide variety of possible tasks.

SUBMITTER: Cole MW

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3128837 | biostudies-other | 2010 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Prefrontal dynamics underlying rapid instructed task learning reverse with practice.

Cole Michael W MW Bagic Anto A Kass Robert R Schneider Walter W

The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience 20101001 42

The ability to rapidly reconfigure our minds to perform novel tasks is important for adapting to an ever-changing world, yet little is understood about its basis in the brain. Furthermore, it is unclear how this kind of task preparation changes with practice. Previous research suggests that prefrontal cortex (PFC) is essential when preparing to perform either novel or practiced tasks. Building upon recent evidence that PFC is organized in an anterior-to-posterior hierarchy, we postulated that no ...[more]

PMID: 20962245

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Project description:BackgroundThe impact of high distraction, real-world environments on dual-task interference and flexibility of attentional prioritization during dual-task walking in people with stroke is unknown.Research questionHow does a real-world environment affect dual-task performance and flexible task prioritization during dual-task walking in adults with and without stroke?MethodsAdults with stroke (n = 29) as well as age-, gender-, and education-matched adults without stroke (n = 23) participated. Single and dual-task walking were examined in two different environments (lab hallway, hospital lobby). Two different dual-task combinations were assessed (Stroop-gait, speech-gait). Each dual-task was performed first without explicit instruction about task prioritization (no-priority) and then with gait-priority instruction and Stroop/speech-priority instruction in randomized order.ResultsPeople with stroke had significantly slower dual-task gait speed (Stroop only) in the lobby than the lab, but the effect was not clinically meaningful. Stroop reaction time for all participants was also slower in the lobby than the lab. All participants slowed their walking speed while generating spontaneous speech, but this effect was not influenced by environment. The dual-task attention allocation strategy was generally inflexible to instructed prioritization in adults with and without stroke in both environments, however, the volitional attention allocation strategy differed for the two dual-task conditions such that speech was prioritized in the speech-gait dual-task and gait appeared to be prioritized in the Stroop-gait dual-task.SignificanceAlthough dual-tasking slows walking speed and verbal responses to auditory stimuli in people with stroke, the effects are not considerably impacted by a more complex, distracting environment. Adults with and without stroke may have difficulty overriding the preferred attention allocation strategy during dual-task walking, especially for habitual dual-tasks such as walking while speaking. It may also be that the cognitive control strategy governing task prioritization is influenced by degree of cognitive engagement.

Dataset Information

Prefrontal dynamics underlying rapid instructed task learning reverse with practice.

Publications

Prefrontal dynamics underlying rapid instructed task learning reverse with practice.

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