Accurate localization and coactivation profiles of the Frontal Eye Field and Inferior Frontal Junction: an ALE and MACM fMRI meta-analysis

Abstract

The frontal eye field (FEF) and the inferior frontal junction (IFJ) are prefrontal structures involved in mediating multiple aspects of goal-driven behavior. Despite being recognized as prominent nodes of the networks underlying spatial attention and oculomotor control, and working memory and cognitive control, respectively, the limited quantitative evidence on their precise localization has considerably impeded the detailed understanding of their structure and connectivity. In this study, we performed an activation likelihood estimation (ALE) fMRI meta-analysis selecting studies that employed standard paradigms to accurately infer the localization of these regions in stereotaxic space. For FEF, we found the highest spatial convergence of activations for prosaccades and antisaccades contrasted against a fixation baseline at the junction of the precentral sulcus with the superior frontal sulcus. For IFJ, we found consistent activations across oddball/cueing, working memory, Stroop and task-switching paradigms at the junction of the precentral sulcus with the inferior frontal sulcus. We related these clusters to previous meta-analyses, sulcal/gyral neuroanatomy and a recent comprehensive brain parcellation, highlighting important differences compared with their results and taxonomy. Finally, we employed the peak coordinates of these clusters as seeds to perform a meta-analytic connectivity modeling (MACM) analysis, which revealed systematic coactivation patterns spanning the frontal, parietal and temporal cortices. We then decoded the behavioral domains associated with the coactivation patterns of each seed, suggesting that these may allow FEF and IFJ to support their respective specialized roles in flexible behavior. Our study provides meta-analytic groundwork for investigating the relationship between functional specialization and connectivity of two crucial structures within the prefrontal cortex.

Prefrontal tDCS is unable to modulate mind wandering propensity or underlying functional or effective brain connectivity

“…More specifically, the DLPFC and neighbouring regions in the prefrontal cortex have a crucial role in goal-driven behaviour. Through complex structural and functional connectivity patterns across higher order frontal, parietal, and temporo-parietal regions, the DLFPC exerts top-down and bottom-up modulations of attention (e.g., influencing the balance between the ventral and dorsal attention networks), encodes working memory signals, and maintains and updates behavioural goals according to internal representations 17 , 21 . While the DLPFC’s role in mind-wandering is less well-characterised, a recent study revealed increased activity in this area during “off-task” periods in a non-demanding 0-back task 22 .…”