Oxygenation of the prefrontal cortex during sequential planning in the Tower of London

Curtis Craig, Martina I. Klein, Shannon B. Rinaldo

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

To investigate the utility of neural theories for human planning, this study used near-infrared spectroscopy to investigate prefrontal (PFC) oxygenation for a well-established planning task: The Tower of London (TOL). Changes in prefrontal oxygenated hemoglobin from baseline were measured during task performance. Performing the Tower of London led to a significant increase in oxygenation in the left caudal region of the PFC in difficult trials moves relative to easier trials. The different degree of prefrontal oxygenation agrees with previous research and provides further evidence for a capacity utilization framework for measuring neurocognitive demand. Higher activity in the left rostral frontopolar region predicted better performance in the Tower of London, which agrees with a proposed rostral-caudal control hierarchy for the prefrontal cortex. Observed results support the feasibility of near-infrared spectroscopy to assess activity during tasks requiring planning ability and provide support for two neurocognitive models, capacity utilization and rostro-caudal control hierarchy.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication2015 International Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, HFES 2015
PublisherHuman Factors and Ergonomics Society Inc.
Pages115-119
Number of pages5
ISBN (Electronic)9780945289470
DOIs
StatePublished - 2015
Event59th International Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, HFES 2015 - Los Angeles, United States
Duration: Oct 26 2015Oct 30 2015

Publication series

NameProceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society
Volume2015-January
ISSN (Print)1071-1813

Conference

Conference59th International Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, HFES 2015
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityLos Angeles
Period10/26/1510/30/15

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