College of Liberal Arts

Theories of the regulation of cognition suggest a system with two necessary
components: one to implement control and another to monitor performance
and signal when adjustments in control are needed. Event-related functional
magnetic resonance imaging and a task-switching version of the Stroop task
were used to examine whether these components of cognitive control have
distinct neural bases in the human brain. A double dissociation was found.
During task preparation, the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (BrodmannÕs
area 9) was more active for color naming than for word reading, consistent with
a role in the implementation of control. In contrast, the anterior cingulate
cortex (BrodmannÕs areas 24 and 32) was more active when responding to
incongruent stimuli, consistent with a role in performance monitoring.