Abstract relational categories, graded persistence, and prefrontal cortical representation

Human behavior is characterized by creativity, flexibility, and adaptability. Psychologists have argued that this is a result of analogical reasoning processes. Neuroimaging studies point to PFC as a critical component of a larger network; however, it remains unclear how the brain accomplishes analogical reasoning. This paper presents a theory of prefrontal cortical function that attempts to explain the neural mechanisms of analogical processing in the context of the broader theoretical and empirical work on PFC. Specifically, the current paper proposes that neurons in PFC are particularly sensitive to relationship information, and that they develop response preferences for relationship information that increases in abstractness and complexity along the posterior-anterior axis. Further, this theory posits that representation formation in PFC is driven by fronto-striatal circuits and that the persistence of these representations is determined by environmental consequences such that the longer the representation predicts reward or punishment, the longer the representation lasts. Finally, it is suggested that because analogy has been proposed as a core cognitive process, underlying many other interesting cognitive phenomena such as learning, creativity, and decision-making, it could serve as a useful tool for studying PFC function in general.