Research article summary (published 9 Nov 2005):

Response-specific sources of dual-task interference in human pre-motor cortex.

Full Abstract

It is difficult to perform two tasks at the same time. Such performance limitations are exemplified by the psychological refractory period (PRP): when participants make distinct motor responses to two stimuli presented in rapid succession, the response to the second stimulus is increasingly slowed as the time interval between the two stimuli is decreased. This impairment is thought to reflect a central limitation in selecting the appropriate response to each stimulus, but not in perceptually encoding the stimuli. In the present study, it was sought to determine which brain regions are specifically involved in response selection under dual-task conditions by contrasting fMRI brain activity measured from a response selection manipulation that increased dual-task costs, with brain activity measured from an equally demanding manipulation that affected perceptual visibility. While a number of parieto-frontal areas involved in response selection were activated by both dual-task manipulations, the dorsal pre-motor cortex, and to a lesser extent the inferior frontal cortex, were specifically engaged by the response selection manipulation. These results suggest that the pre-motor cortex is an important neural locus of response selection limitation under dual-task situations.

Author information

Author/s: Marois, R (R); Larson, J M (JM); Chun, M M (MM); Shima, D (D);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, 530 Wilson Hall, 111 21st Ave, Nashville, Tennessee 37203, USA. rene.marois(-atsign-)vanderbilt.edu

Grants: R01MH70776 (Agency:NIMH NIH HHS)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

Journal: Psychological research (Psychol Res), published in Germany. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2006-Nov; vol 70 (issue 6) : pp 436-47

Dates: Created 2006/10/11; Completed 2007/05/02; Revised 2007/12/03;

PMID: 16283409, status: MEDLINE (last retrieved date: 2/18/2009)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MeSH Headings (categories) shown below.

Adult Attention - physiology Brain Mapping Color Perception - physiology Dominance, Cerebral - physiology Female Frontal Lobe - physiology Functional Laterality - physiology Humans Image Processing, Computer-Assisted

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Male Motor Cortex - physiology Nerve Net - physiology Oxygen - blood Parietal Lobe - physiology Pattern Recognition, Visual - physiology Psychomotor Performance - physiology Reaction Time - physiology Refractory Period, Psychological - physiology

Note: Bold headings indicate primary MeSH headings or qualifiers.

Associated Chemicals: Oxygen (7782-44-7)

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