The role of the frontal cortex in planning decision making and problem solving
FP4 — Training and Mobility of Researchers
- Duration
- 1996-01-10 → 1997-01-09
- EU contribution
- —
- Participants
- 2
- Scheme
- RGI
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Project objective
The prefrontal cortex is phylogenetically the most recent region of the brain, and this structure reaches its highest level of development in humans in whom it represents about one third of the cerebral mass. Yet, the specific functions of the frontal lobes remain poorly understood, and are currently a topic of intensive research effort in neurosciences. Anatomical and neurophysiological investigations as well as studies of human patients and non-human primates with frontal lobe dysfunction, indicate that the prefrontal regions are a site of supramodal integration and that they play an important role in sequentially and hierarchically organized behaviors. It is becoming increasingly clear that multidisciplinary approaches are necessary in order to clarify the neural and cognitive organisation which govern such complex behaviors. The present study focuses on what is thought to be a major function of the frontal lobes in humans, namely the planning of action, using three coordinated research methods. The first method focuses on planning and executive capacities of patients with primary and secondary dysfunction of the prefrontal regions. The second method uses functional brain imaging in intact human subjects to identify the regions involved in planning. The third method uses artificial neural networks to simulate temporally organised actions and and develop a testable model of neural organisation in order to account for normal and pathological planning. The major working hypothesis is that the prefrontal regions and the subcortical areas connected to it, such as the basal ganglia, constitute the substrate of higher-order cognitive representations which serve to initiate, steer and supervise ongoing behavior. The rationale for the experiments described in this project has its origin in work undertaken under a previous EC fellowship (Sirigu et al., 1995a, 1995b).
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
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Data: CORDIS, © European Union