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Updated: Aug 26, 2026

Intracortical Inhibition Within the Primary Motor Cortex Can Be Modulated by Changing the Focus of Attention
Published on: September 11, 2017
Cortico-subcortical contributions to executive control
Katrin Heyder1, Boris Suchan, Irene Daum
1Department of Neuropsychology, Faculty of Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr-University of Bochum, 44780 Bochum, Germany.
Abstract:
The term "executive functions" refers to a range of cognitive processes, their common feature being the coordination of information processing and action control. Cortico-subcortical circuits which connect the prefrontal cortex (PFC), the basal ganglia and the cerebellum via the thalamus are believed to serve as neuroanatomical substrates of executive processing. This paper focuses on information processing related to executive functions by the PFC and related subcortical regions. Findings are mainly derived from neuropsychological investigations of brain-damaged patients but also from imaging studies in healthy subjects. There is evidence for subtle differences between these regions with respect to the cognitive mechanisms contributing to inhibition of habitual responses, task management/multitasking and set shifting, although the data base is sparse so far.
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