Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

The prefrontal cortex: response selection or maintenance within working memory?

J B Rowe1, I Toni, O Josephs

  • 1Wellcome Department of Cognitive Neurology, Institute of Neurology, 12 Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK. j.rowe@fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk

Science (New York, N.Y.)
|June 2, 2000
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

The Cambridge Questionnaire for Apathy and Impulsivity Traits (CamQUAIT): a novel assessment tool for frontotemporal lobar degeneration-related syndromes.

PloS one·2026
Same author

Distinct spatiotemporal atrophy patterns in corticobasal syndrome are associated with different underlying pathologies.

medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences·2024
Same author

Evaluation of cerebrospinal fluid alpha-synuclein seed amplification assay in PSP and CBS.

medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences·2024
Same author

A data-driven model of brain volume changes in progressive supranuclear palsy.

Brain communications·2022
Same author

DCyFIR: a high-throughput CRISPR platform for multiplexed G protein-coupled receptor profiling and ligand discovery.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2020
Same author

Neuroinflammation and Functional Connectivity in Alzheimer's Disease: Interactive Influences on Cognitive Performance.

The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience·2019
Same journal

A native sulfur deposit in Gale crater, Mars.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2026
Same journal

Coordinated demise of harmful algal blooms.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2026
Same journal

Genetic effects put into context.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2026
Same journal

Bacteria share proteins to survive antibiotics.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2026
Same journal

Impacts shaped Earth's first continents.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2026
Same journal

Erratum for the Report "Covalently bonded single-molecule junctions with stable and reversible photoswitched conductivity" by C. Jia <i>et al</i>.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2026
See all related articles

The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex aids in selecting information for working memory tasks, not just maintaining it. This research clarifies its role in cognitive control and response selection.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Psychology

Background:

  • The precise role of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in working memory remains debated.
  • Specifically, its involvement in maintaining information versus selecting responses is unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To differentiate the neural processes underlying the maintenance of spatial information and the selection of responses within working memory.
  • To investigate the specific subregions of the prefrontal cortex involved in these distinct cognitive functions.

Main Methods:

  • Event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was employed to monitor brain activity.
  • Participants performed a spatial working memory task designed to isolate maintenance and selection components.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • Activation in prefrontal area 46 of the DLPFC was specifically linked to the selection of items from working memory.
  • Maintenance of spatial items, conversely, correlated with activation in prefrontal area 8 and the intraparietal cortex.
  • These findings distinguish the roles of different prefrontal and parietal regions in working memory.

Conclusions:

  • The dorsal prefrontal cortex, particularly area 46, plays a crucial role in the selection of representations, not their maintenance.
  • This finding reconciles previous observations of DLPFC activation in both working memory selection and willed action tasks.
  • The study provides a refined understanding of the functional neuroanatomy of working memory and cognitive control.