Special Seminar with David Badre, Ph.D.
Cognitive control of memory and action: Contributions of the prefrontal cortex
Wednesday, April 18th, 2007
3:00 PM
McGovern Institute for Brain Research
Seminar Room 46-3002

David Badre, Ph.D.
Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute
University of California, Berkeley

Cognitive control of memory and action: Contributions of the prefrontal cortex

At any given moment, we have many more actions available to us than are appropriate for our current situation and goals. Though flexibility in behavior derives from this surplus of options, it also presents an indeterminacy problem to be solved by the nervous system. The prefrontal cortex is particularly important in integrating information from multiple pathways in order to guide choices about action that are consistent with our current environment, our knowledge, and our goals. In this talk, Dr. Badre will describe a cognitive neuroscience approach to understanding prefrontal function and cognitive control. He will focus on two questions within this general program of research. (1) What are the prefrontal mechanisms by which we retrieve and select information from memory in order to inform and guide our actions? (2) Is the rostro-caudal axis of prefrontal cortex organized based on the abstract level of choice at which control must operate? To address these questions, he will review recent results from behavioral, neuroimaging, and neuropsychological experiments. Broadly, these results provide insight into the organization of cognitive control along processing gradients within the prefrontal cortex.