Involvement of the inferior frontal junction in cognitive control: Meta‐analyses of switching and Stroop studies

Derrfuß, Jan; Braß, Marcel; Neumann, Jane; von Cramon, D. Yves · 2005 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.1002/hbm.20127

archive: archived pipeline: cataloged verified

Get this paper ↗ (DOI — opens at the source; we link to it, we don't host it)

Summary

This study investigates the role of the inferior frontal junction (IFJ), a region in the posterior frontolateral cortex, in cognitive control processes. While previous research suggested the IFJ is involved in updating task representations, its consistent involvement across different paradigms had not been rigorously tested due to variability in functional imaging results and inconsistent anatomical labeling. The authors aimed to determine if the IFJ is consistently activated during cognitive control tasks, specifically task switching and interference resolution, using a quantitative meta-analytic approach. The researchers conducted two separate meta-analyses of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies published between 2000 and 2004. The first analysis included frontal activations from task-switching, set-shifting, and stimulus–response reversal studies, while the second focused on color–word Stroop studies. They employed the Activation Likelihood Estimate (ALE) method, which models reported activation peaks as probability distributions to identify clusters of consistent activation above chance levels. Strict selection criteria were applied to reduce variance, including the exclusion of studies using parametric designs, region-of-interest analyses, or comparisons with resting conditions. Only frontal lobe and anterior insula activations from healthy participants were included, with coordinates transformed to Talairach space. The results demonstrated highly significant clustering of activations in the IFJ for both meta-analyses. In the switching paradigm analysis, the maximum ALE value in the IFJ was located at coordinates (–40, 4, 30). In the Stroop task analysis, the maximum was located at (–40, 4, 32). These findings indicate that the IFJ is consistently involved in both switching and Stroop paradigms. The overlap of significant voxels in the IFJ was nearly identical to the overlap found in a previous within-subject fMRI investigation by the same group. Other regions showing consistent activation included the anterior cingulate cortex and presupplementary motor area, but the IFJ activation was distinct and robust across both task types. These findings provide strong evidence for the consistent involvement of the IFJ in cognitive control, supporting the hypothesis that this region is specialized for the updating of task representations. The results challenge the view that only the middorsolateral prefrontal cortex is critical for control processes, highlighting the IFJ as a separate functional entity. Furthermore, the study demonstrates the utility of quantitative meta-analyses in testing hypotheses about specific brain region involvement, offering a more rigorous method for identifying consistent neural substrates than traditional effect-size meta-analyses or subjective anatomical assignments.

Provenance

The full processing record for this entry. Every stage of this paper's journey through the pipeline is logged — what ran, with which tool and model, how many attempts it took, and when it last completed.

Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-26; verification: verified.

Topics

Ranked by relevance to this paper. Hover a topic for its definition.

• executive function