fMRI Studies of Stroop Tasks Reveal Unique Roles of Anterior and Posterior Brain Systems in Attentional Selection

Banich, Marie T.; Milham, Michael P.; Atchley, Ruthann; Cohen, Neal J.; Webb, Andrew; Wszalek, Tracey; Kramer, Arthur F.; Liang, Zhei-Pei; Wright, Alexander D.; Shenker, Joel I.; Magin, Richard L. · 2000 · Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience

DOI: 10.1162/08989290051137521

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Summary

This study investigates the neural mechanisms of attentional selection, specifically examining whether anterior and posterior brain systems play distinct roles in processing task-relevant versus task-irrelevant information. The authors challenge the conventional view that attentional control primarily enhances the processing of relevant stimuli. Instead, they hypothesize that executive control involves modulating the processing of irrelevant, distracting information. To test this, the researchers employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during two experiments using variants of the Stroop task, which requires participants to ignore automatic responses to select a specific stimulus attribute. In Experiment 1, the researchers compared a color-word task (selecting ink color, ignoring word identity) with a spatial-word task (selecting spatial location, ignoring word identity). These tasks shared the same task-irrelevant dimension (word identity) but differed in the task-relevant dimension. Results showed that increased attentional demands, induced by incongruent trials, activated distinct subdivisions of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and precuneus depending on the relevant attribute. Specifically, ventral DLPFC regions were more active for the color-word task, while dorsal DLPFC regions were more active for the spatial-word task. This indicates that the anterior executive system is modular and sensitive to the nature of task-relevant information. Experiment 2 compared a color-word task with a color-object task (selecting ink color, ignoring object identity). Here, the task-relevant dimension (color) was constant, but the task-irrelevant dimension varied (word vs. object). Unlike Experiment 1, no differentiation was observed in the DLPFC or precuneus, suggesting these regions are insensitive to the type of irrelevant information. However, significant differentiation occurred in posterior regions: parietal areas were uniquely activated for the color-word task, while occipito-temporal regions were uniquely activated for the color-object task. Notably, no increase in activation was observed in regions responsible for processing the relevant attribute (color). The findings demonstrate that the anterior attentional system, particularly the DLPFC, is organized modularly based on the type of information that must be selected (task-relevant). Conversely, the posterior system appears to be modulated by the type of information that must be suppressed (task-irrelevant). The study concludes that attentional selection in conflict tasks like the Stroop task operates primarily by modulating the processing of task-irrelevant information rather than enhancing the processing of task-relevant information. This provides evidence for a dissociation between anterior executive control systems and posterior sensory processing systems in the neural architecture of attention.

Key finding

Attentional selection in Stroop-like tasks is characterized by differential activation in anterior brain regions based on task-relevant information and in posterior regions based on task-irrelevant information, suggesting that selection occurs by modulating the processing of irrelevant stimuli.

Methodology

lab_experiment

Sample size: 29

Provenance

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Topics

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• attention selective divided