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

Dorsomedial prefrontal cortex resolves response conflict in rats.

Sanne de Wit1, Yutaka Kosaki, Bernard Walter Balleine

  • 1Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EB, United Kingdom. sd322@cam.ac.uk

The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience
|May 12, 2006
PubMed
Summary

The dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) is crucial for resolving competing responses in goal-directed behavior. Inactivating the dmPFC impairs the ability to inhibit incorrect responses when faced with conflict.

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

CRF Receptor Type 1 Modulates the Nigrostriatal Dopamine Projection and Facilitates Cognitive Flexibility after Acute and Chronic Stress.

eNeuro·2026
Same author

Human goal-directed behavior is resistant to interventions on the action-outcome contingency.

BMC psychology·2026
Same author

Impaired contingency judgement in mice under ketamine: an implication for an altered sense of agency in schizophrenia.

Psychopharmacology·2025
Same author

Boosting behavioral adaptability to enhance older adults' mental health/well-being and quality of life using a habit-based metacognitive self-help intervention.

BMC psychology·2025
Same author

Context blindness in the BTBR T<sup>+</sup> tf mouse model of autism: impaired contextual control of discrimination reversal learning.

Behavioural brain research·2025
Same author

Effect of the reinforcement rate on goal-directed and habitual choices in a multiple schedule.

Frontiers in psychology·2025

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Science
  • Animal Behavior

Background:

  • Goal-directed behavior relies on response-outcome learning and conflict resolution.
  • Neuroimaging implicates the prefrontal cortex in resolving competing responses.
  • The specific role of the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) in conflict resolution remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the necessity of dmPFC function for resolving response conflict in goal-directed behavior.
  • To develop and utilize a rodent model for studying response conflict.

Main Methods:

  • Developed a rodent paradigm where a response outcome also signals an alternative correct response, creating conflict.
  • Inactivated the dmPFC in rats using muscimol infusion.
  • Assessed the rats' ability to resolve the induced response conflict.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • Rats with a functional dmPFC successfully resolved the response conflict.
  • dmPFC inactivation selectively impaired the inhibition of incorrect, competing responses.
  • This deficit highlights the dmPFC's role in managing conflicting behavioral choices.

Conclusions:

  • The dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) is essential for resolving response conflict in goal-directed behavior.
  • dmPFC function is necessary for inhibiting competing, incorrect responses.
  • This study provides direct evidence for the dmPFC's critical role in behavioral flexibility.