Open AccessDifferential roles of inferior frontal and inferior parietal cortex in task switching: Evidence from stimulus‐categorization switching and response‐modality switching
Author(s) -
Philipp Andrea M.,
Weidner Ralph,
Koch Iring,
Fink Gereon R.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
human brain mapping
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.005
H-Index - 191
eISSN - 1097-0193
pISSN - 1065-9471
DOI - 10.1002/hbm.22036
Subject(s) - supramarginal gyrus , intraparietal sulcus , neuroscience , inferior frontal gyrus , posterior parietal cortex , psychology , superior frontal gyrus , parietal lobe , middle frontal gyrus , prefrontal cortex , medial frontal gyrus , stimulus (psychology) , working memory , task switching , angular gyrus , cognitive psychology , cognition , functional magnetic resonance imaging
We used fMRI to investigate both common and differential neural mechanisms underlying two distinct types of switching requirements, namely switching between stimulus categorizations (color vs. form) and switching between response modalities (hand vs. foot responses). Both types of switching induced similar behavioral shift costs. However, at the neural level, switching between stimulus categorizations led to left‐hemispheric activations including the inferior frontal gyrus as well as the intraparietal sulcus extending to the superior parietal gyrus and the supramarginal gyrus. In contrast, switching between response modalities was associated mainly with left‐hemispheric activation of the intraparietal sulcus and the supramarginal gyrus. A conjunction analysis indicated common activation of the left intraparietal sulcus and the supramarginal gyrus for both types of switching. Together, these results qualify previous claims about a general role of the left prefrontal cortex in task control by suggesting that the left inferior frontal gyrus is specifically involved in switching between stimulus categorizations, whereas parietal cortex is more generally implicated in the selection of action rules. Hum Brain Mapp, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.