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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 13, 2026

Online Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation of Dorsomedial and Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex in Cognition Decision Making, and Cognitive Dissonance

Online Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation of Dorsomedial and Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex in Cognition Decision Making, and Cognitive Dissonance

Published on: December 5, 2025

Left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and the cognitive control of memory.

David Badre¹, Anthony D Wagner

¹Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, 132 Barker Hall, MC3190, UC Berkeley, CA 94720-3190, USA. dbadre@berkeley.edu

Neuropsychologia

|August 7, 2007

Summary

The left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) plays a key role in memory control. Different VLPFC regions manage accessing stored information and selecting relevant knowledge for cognitive tasks.

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Disruption of Frontal Lobe Neural Synchrony During Cognitive Control by Alcohol Intoxication

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Published on: February 6, 2019

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Last Updated: Jul 13, 2026

Online Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation of Dorsomedial and Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex in Cognition Decision Making, and Cognitive Dissonance

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Published on: December 5, 2025

Disruption of Frontal Lobe Neural Synchrony During Cognitive Control by Alcohol Intoxication

Disruption of Frontal Lobe Neural Synchrony During Cognitive Control by Alcohol Intoxication

Published on: February 6, 2019

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Psychology

Background:

Cognitive control enables strategic memory retrieval, aligning knowledge with current goals.
The left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) is implicated in memory control.

Purpose of the Study:

To review the contribution of left VLPFC to the cognitive control of memory.
To present a two-process model of mnemonic control based on VLPFC function.

Main Methods:

Review of existing evidence on left VLPFC function in memory.
Analysis of functional dissociations within rostral VLPFC regions.

Main Results:

Evidence supports a two-process model of mnemonic control.
Anterior VLPFC (BA 47) facilitates controlled access to conceptual representations.
Mid-VLPFC (BA 45) supports post-retrieval selection to resolve representational competition.

Conclusions:

Left VLPFC exhibits functional specialization for distinct mnemonic control processes.
These findings have implications for understanding semantic retrieval, episodic recollection, working memory, and task switching.