The role of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in the inhibition of stereotyped responses

Abstract

Stereotyped behaviors should be inhibited under some circumstances in order to encourage appropriate behavior. Psychiatrists have used the modified rock-paper-scissors (RPS) task to examine the inhibition of stereotyped behavior. When subjects are required to lose in response to a gesture, it is difficult for them to lose, and they have a tendency to win involuntarily. It is thought that the win response is the stereotyped response in the RPS task, and the difficulty in making positive attempts to lose is due to the requirement for inhibition of the stereotyped response. In this study, we investigated the brain regions related to inhibition of the stereotyped response using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Subjects were assigned to one of two groups: the "win group" or the "lose group." The lose group showed higher activation of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLFPC) when compared to the win group. We also delivered transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) while the subjects performed the modified RPS task to investigate whether the left DLPFC (middle frontal gyrus, Brodmann area, BA 9) was directly involved in the inhibition of the stereotyped response. When TMS was delivered before onset of the visual stimulus, the subjects displayed increased response errors. In particular, the subjects had a tendency to win erroneously in a lose condition even though they were required to lose. These results indicate involvement of the left DLPFC in inhibition of the stereotyped responses, which suggests that this region is associated with inhibition of the preparatory setting for stereotyped responses rather than inhibition of ongoing processing to produce a stereotyped response.

Relation between Parametric Change of the Workload and Prefrontal Cortex Activity during a Modified Version of the ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors' Task

“…Previous studies have shown that losing activated the PFC more than winning in the modified RPS task [8,10,12,13]. These studies also suggested that a modified RPS task requires the inhibition of stereotyped behavior, working memory, response selection and higher-level motor planning.…”

“…It has also been suggested that, in relation to the role of the lateral PFC in executive behavioral control, the lateral PFC was responsible for these cognitive functions [27]. Previous studies using a modified RPS task in the lose condition have demonstrated the involvement of the lateral PFC [10,11], with more specific localization in the left SMA [9], left inferior frontal gyrus [8], left DLPFC [12] and right VLPFC [13]. In spite of the differences of laterality and precise localization, previous studies and our present results consistently suggest activation in the lateral PFC and BA6, including SMA.…”

“…Moreover, numerous studies have been performed to investigate the neural network involved in the cognitive functions activated during the modified RPS task [8,9,10,11,12,13]. The results of these studies have suggested the involvement of the dorsal part of the lateral PFC (DLPFC; Brodmann areas: BA9, and 46), the ventral part of the lateral PFC (VLPFC; Brodmann areas: BA44, 45 and 47), and the supplementary motor area (SMA; Brodmann areas: BA6).…”

Resting state synchrony in long-term abstinent alcoholics: Effects of a current major depressive disorder diagnosis

“…1). Compared to NSAC, LTAA showed enhanced RSS (yellow line) between bilateral NAcc (yellow clusters) and left DLPFC (red cluster), regions known to be involved in reward processing (NAcc) and inhibitory control (left DLPFC; (Kadota et al, 2010; Nathaniel-James, 2002)); ongoing enhancement of inhibitory control over reward processing may help alcoholics to maintain abstinence. Additionally, when compared to NSAC, abstinent alcoholics also showed enhanced RSS (green line) between sgACC (green cluster) and right DLPFC (red cluster), regions known to be involved in emotion regulation (sgACC) and emotional judgments (right DLPFC) (Grimm et al, 2008); ongoing enhancement of emotion regulation and judgment may also mediate successful abstinence in alcoholics.…”

Activation patterns in multiple sclerosis on the Computerized Tests of Information Processing

“…The increased left prefrontal cortical activation also is related to decision making given that both conditions were reliant on a choice being made. In addition, this prefrontal area has been associated with response inhibition, also clearly involved in each of the conditions [30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37]. It is also possible that these increases in activity occurred to counter the reduced activation in the left temporal gyri in patients.…”