Encoding, preparation and implementation of novel complex verbal instructions

González-García, Carlos; Arco, Juan E.; Palenciano, Ana F.; Ramı́rez, Javier; Ruz, Marı́a

doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.01.037

Cited by 37 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…One such study by Muhle-Karbe et al 34 identified LPFC activity patterns associated with highly familiar categorization routines regarding house pictures vs. face pictures -but, importantly, not regarding the concrete stimulus-response rules (e.g., the instructed responses for each of two different faces) underlying a multitude of individual face or house categorization tasks each involving a unique set of stimuli. Similar conclusions apply to a related study 53 . Another approach pursued by Cole et al 32,33 provided evidence for the principle of 'rule compositionality' see also 54,55 .…”

Section: Representations Of Newly Instructed Rules and Familiar Rulessupporting

confidence: 87%

Initial neural representation of individual rules after first-time instruction

Ruge

Schaefer²,

Zwosta

et al. 2019

Preprint

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By following explicit instructions humans can instantaneously get the hang of tasks they have never performed before. Here, we used a specially calibrated multivariate analysis technique to uncover the elusive representational states following newly instructed arbitrary behavioural rules such as 'for coffee, press red button', while transitioning from 'knowing what to do' to 'actually doing it'. Subtle variation in distributed neural activity patterns reflected rule-specific representations within the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC), confined to instructed stimulus-response learning in contrast to incidental learning involving the same stimuli and responses. VLPFC representations were established right after first-time instruction and remained stable across early implementation trials. More and more fluent application of novel rule representations was channelled through increasing cooperation between VLPFC and anterior striatum. These findings inform representational theories on how the prefrontal cortex supports behavioural flexibility by enabling ad-hoc coding of novel task rules without recourse to familiar sub-routines

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Section: Representations Of Newly Instructed Rules and Familiar Rulessupporting

confidence: 87%

Initial neural representation of individual rules after first-time instruction

Ruge

Schaefer²,

Zwosta

et al. 2019

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…These and other findings propose a crucial role of a frontoparietal network (FPN) in the instantiation of a highly efficient task readiness state 11–17 . Accordingly, evidence coming from frontal patients 18 and healthy participants 10,15,19 , as well as prominent theoretical models 20 support a serial coding hypothesis , a two-step process in which the FPN first encodes instructed information into a primarily declarative representation, that is, a persistent representation of the memoranda conveyed by the instruction.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 75%

“…As a first step, we investigated which brain regions were predominantly involved in instruction prioritization. Our intuition was that prioritization would boost implementation signals and, as such, we expected a frontoparietal network to be particularly crucial, as it is usually involved in the implementation of novel task sets 11,14–17,24 . We thus established a set of a priori candidate regions that encompassed frontal (inferior and middle frontal gyri) and (inferior and superior) parietal cortices (see Fig.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast, parietal cortices contained both declarative and procedural information of relevant S-Rs. Whereas the role of parietal regions in representing goals and task set information is widely acknowledged 11,13,16,17,24,34,35 , it is unclear what drives such declarative activation. One possibility is that it reflects a category-specific top-down selection scheme, driven by increased attention towards the cued S-R 36,37 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, evidence for such serial coding in control regions is lacking, primarily due to the fact that previous analytical approaches were unable to track representational formats of specific nature. Previous work thus identified some properties of the FPN during the implementation of novel instructions, such as enhanced decoding of stimulus category 11,16 , or altered similarity within to-be-implemented S-R associations 13,15 , but failed to determine the functional state underlying such representational effects. Therefore, currently, it cannot be discerned whether novel task setting is achieved through the proposed frontoparietal formatting.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

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Frontoparietal action-oriented codes support novel instruction implementation

González-García

Formica

Wisniewski

et al. 2019

Preprint

Self Cite

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12A key aspect of human cognitive flexibility concerns the ability to rapidly convert 13 complex symbolic instructions into novel behaviors. Previous research proposes 14 that this fast configuration is supported by two differentiated neurocognitive states, 15 namely, an initial declarative maintenance of task knowledge, and a progressive 16 transformation into a pragmatic, action-oriented state necessary for optimal task 17 execution. Furthermore, current models predict a crucial role of frontal and parietal 18 brain regions in this transformation. However, direct evidence for such 19 frontoparietal formatting of novel task representations is still lacking. Here, we 20 report the results of an fMRI experiment in which participants had to execute novel 21 instructed stimulus-response associations. We then used a multivariate pattern-22 tracking procedure to quantify the degree of neural activation of instructions in 23 declarative and procedural representational formats. This analysis revealed, for the 24 first time, format-unique representations of relevant task sets in frontoparietal 25 areas, prior to execution. Critically, the degree of procedural (but not declarative) 26 activation predicted subsequent behavioral performance. Our results shed light on 27 current debates on the architecture of cognitive control and working memory 28 systems, suggesting a contribution of frontoparietal regions to output gating 29 mechanisms that drive behavior. 30 31 32Some of the most advanced collaborative human achievements rely on our ability 33 to rapidly learn novel tasks. Instruction following constitutes a powerful instance of 34 this ability as it combines the flexibility to specify complex abstract relationships 35 with an efficiency far superior to other forms of task learning such as trial and error, 36 or reinforcement learning. These unique characteristics make it a distinctive skill 37 that separates humans from other species 1 . While recent years have witnessed 38 substantial progress in our understanding of instruction following, the neural and 39 cognitive mechanisms underlying this rapid transformation of complex symbolic 40 information into effective behavior are still poorly understood. Specifically, a critical 41 question that remains unresolved is whether a declarative representation of task 42 information is sufficient or whether an additional representational state, closely 43 linked to action, precedes optimal performance. 44Previous behavioral studies have consistently reported an intriguing signature of 45 instruction processing, namely, a reflexive activation of responses on the basis of 46 merely instructed stimulus-response (S-R) associations (defined as "intention-47 based reflexivity", or IBR). IBR occurs even when instructions are task-irrelevant 48 and have not been overtly executed before 2-7 , which suggests a rapid 49 configuration of instructed content predominantly towards action. Instruction 50 implementation also has a profound impact on brain activity, as shown by 5...

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