Functional connectivity profile of the human inferior frontal junction: involvement in a cognitive control network

Abstract

BackgroundThe human inferior frontal junction area (IFJ) is critically involved in three main component processes of cognitive control (working memory, task switching and inhibitory control). As it overlaps with several areas in established anatomical labeling schemes, it is considered to be underreported as a functionally distinct location in the neuroimaging literature. While recent studies explicitly focused on the IFJ's anatomical organization and functional role as a single brain area, it is usually not explicitly denominated in studies on cognitive networks. However based on few analyses in small datasets constrained by specific a priori assumptions on its functional specialization, the IFJ has been postulated to be part of a cognitive control network. Goal of this meta-analysis was to establish the IFJ’s connectivity profile on a high formal level of evidence by aggregating published implicit knowledge about its co-activations. We applied meta-analytical connectivity modeling (MACM) based on the activation likelihood estimation (ALE) method without specific assumptions regarding functional specialization on 180 (reporting left IFJ activity) and 131 (right IFJ) published functional neuroimaging experiments derived from the BrainMap database. This method is based on coordinates in stereotaxic space, not on anatomical descriptors.ResultsThe IFJ is significantly co-activated with areas in the dorsolateral and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, anterior insula, medial frontal gyrus / pre-SMA, posterior parietal cortex, occipitotemporal junction / cerebellum, thalamus and putamen as well as language and motor areas. Results are corroborated by an independent resting-state fMRI analysis.ConclusionsThese results support the assumption that the IFJ is part of a previously described cognitive control network. They also highlight the involvement of subcortical structures in this system. A direct line is drawn from works on the functional significance of brain activity located at the IFJ and its anatomical definition to published results related to distributed cognitive brain systems. The IFJ is therefore introduced as a convenient starting point to investigate the cognitive control network in further studies.

Domain-general involvement of the posterior frontolateral cortex in time-based resource-sharing in working memory: An fMRI study

“…It is worth noting that the pattern of regions observed in the conjunction analysis is highly consistent with the fronto-parietal cognitive control network observed by Sundermann and Pfleiderer (2012) who identified the IFJ as a critical hub within that network. The parietal activations observed in the current study overlapped with those of previous studies that showed increased parietal involvement as task difficulty increases (Crittenden and Duncan, 2014) and as the number of verbal items held in WM that require manipulation increases (Champod and Petrides, 2010).…”

Altered Functional Connectivity of the Insula and Nucleus Accumbens in Internet Gaming Disorder: A Resting State fMRI Study

“…The frontoinsular cortex plays a critical role in activating the central executive network, such as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) [13] . Thus, the connectivity within the insula, inferior frontal lobe, and DLPFC has been suggested as involving a cognitive control network [15] . Further, the inter-network connectivity involving the insula has been reported to be weaker in cocaine users and related to their impulsivity [16] .…”

Increased functional connectivity between language and visually deprived areas in late and partial blindness

“…In all three groups, we identified regions that are regularly activated in functional language tasks and also belong to several intrinsically connected networks such as the language network (Bookheimer, 2002;Hagoort, 2005;Hampson et al, 2002;Johnson and Ojemann, 2000;Price, 2010;Yetkin et al, 1995) and the executive control network (Doucet et al, 2011;Spreng et al, 2010;Sundermann and Pfleiderer, 2012;Vincent et al, 2008). These findings suggest that functional connectivity is useful in delineating networks for a given function, including language, and may imply that beyond the changes between Broca's and visual areas, the rest of the network is well preserved in cases of visual deprivation.…”