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The role of prefrontal cortex in resolving distractor interference.

Amishi P Jha1, Sara A Fabian, Geoffrey K Aguirre

  • 1Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. apjha@psych.upenn.edu

Cognitive, Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience
|April 27, 2005
PubMed
Summary

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) and fusiform face area help resolve distracting information during memory tasks. Ventral PFC activity increases with task-relevant distractors, but only when memory performance is accurate.

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Neuroimaging
  • Psychology

Background:

  • The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is crucial for resolving proactive interference.
  • It is hypothesized that specific PFC subregions involved in proactive interference resolution may also play a role in managing delay-spanning distractor interference.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether the same prefrontal cortex (PFC) subregions that handle proactive interference also manage delay-spanning distractor interference.
  • To explore the neural mechanisms underlying working memory performance when faced with distractors during the delay interval.

Main Methods:

  • Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to scan ten subjects performing delayed-recognition tasks.
  • Subjects were asked to remember faces or shoes during a 15-second delay interval.

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  • Task-irrelevant distractors (faces or shoes) were presented during the delay, creating congruent or incongruent conditions.

    • Main Results:

    • Delayed-recognition performance was impaired (slower, less accurate) with congruent distractors compared to incongruent distractors.
    • fMRI revealed significant delay interval activity in both dorsal and ventral PFC for face and shoe working memory tasks.
    • Ventral PFC activity, and activity in the fusiform face area, showed a congruency effect (greater activity for congruent distractors) but only on correct trials.

    Conclusions:

    • Ventral prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity is modulated by distractor category, suggesting its role in delay-spanning interference resolution.
    • The fusiform face area also exhibits a congruency effect, particularly during face distraction, indicating its involvement.
    • These findings suggest a collaborative role between the ventrolateral PFC and the fusiform face area in resolving interference during memory delays.