Cognitive Psychology Commons^™

Using Fmri To Investigate A Component Process Of Reflection: Prefrontal Correlates Of Refreshing A Just-Activated Representation, Marcia K. Johnson, Carol L. Raye, Karen J. Mitchell, Erich J. Greene, William A. Cunningham, Charles A. Sanislow

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

Using fMRI, we investigated the functional organization of prefrontal cortex (PFC) as participants briefly thought of a single just-experienced item (i.e., refreshed an active representation). The results of six studies, and a meta-analysis including previous studies, identified regions in left dorsolateral, anterior, and ventrolateral PFC associated in varying degrees with refreshing different types of information (visual and auditory words, drawings, patterns, people, places, or locations). In addition, activity increased in anterior cingulate with selection demands and in orbitofrontal cortex when a nonselected item was emotionally salient, consistent with a role for these areas in cognitive control (e.g., overcoming "mental rubbernecking"). …