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Abstract:
Abstract: Activation in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)
and right prefrontal cortex (PFC) has been observed in the
classical color-word Stroop task and in other tasks that require
withholding of an automatic motor response. Here, we investigate
the generalization of brain activation findings with Stroop-like
tasks by examining whether ACC and PFC become activated using the
digit-Stroop paradigm, in which numerical processing is required
and the attended information is not physical (as in the classical
Stroop) but semantic. A fMRI block-design was used with EPI BOLD
methods at 1.5 T. Participants viewed digit pairs differing along
the numerical (semantic), and physical (size) dimensions and
selected the numerically larger digit in congruent, incongruent and
neutral (as control) conditions. ACC and right PFC activation only
occurred in relation to the incongruent task when the two stimulus
attributes compete. No ACC and PFC activation occurred for the
congruent task when the two stimulus attributes do not compete.
These results confirm the hypothesis that ACC and the right PFC
have a key role in selecting competing responses associated with
different stimulus attributes. Furthermore, they indicate that the
Stroop paradigm is very useful for investigating the functional
anatomy of selective attention. Support: Italian Ministry of
Health.
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