Frontal Cortex and the Hierarchical Control of Behavior

Overview

Journal Trends Cogn Sci

Date 2017 Dec 13

PMID 29229206

Citations 215

Authors

David Badre

Derek Evan Nee

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The frontal lobes are important for cognitive control, yet their functional organization remains controversial. An influential class of theory proposes that the frontal lobes are organized along their rostrocaudal axis to support hierarchical cognitive control. Here, we take an updated look at the literature on hierarchical control, with particular focus on the functional organization of lateral frontal cortex. Our review of the evidence supports neither a unitary model of lateral frontal function nor a unidimensional abstraction gradient. Rather, separate frontal networks interact via local and global hierarchical structure to support diverse task demands.

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