Braver and his colleagues (e.g., Braver & Cohen, 2001) have provided a theory that explains the attention, inhibition, and working memory functions of cognitive control in terms of a single underlying context processing mechanism. """"""""Context"""""""" here refers to information (e.g., instructions, goals) that allows one to guide and update behavior when performing a task. Because the representation and maintenance of context information are considered to reside within the dorsolateral-prefrontal cortex (DL-PFC) and are regulated by the dopamine neurotransmitter (DA) system, their model suggests that populations with impairments in either or both the DL-PFC and the DA system should demonstrate impaired cognitive control. Our long-term goal is to examine whether developmental differences in context processing may explain age-related improvements in the attention, inhibition, and working memory functions of cognitive control. This goal is based, in part, on the observation that those neuroanatomic structures (DL-PFC and DA systems) that represent and maintain context information are the last to develop in children. The proposed research has four specific aims: (1) to determine whether developmental differences in cognitive control are due to age-related improvements in the ability to represent and/or maintain context information; (2) to determine whether developmental differences in cognitive control vary with the level of demand that is placed upon the ability to represent context information; (3) to determine whether developmental differences in cognitive control vary with the level of demand that is placed upon the ability to maintain context information; and (4) to determine whether developmental differences in context processing may be reduced or eliminated. By identifying developmental patterns of cognitive control within the context processing theory of Braver et al., we hope to enhance our understanding of how cognitive control normally develops in children. In addition, describing the development of cognitive control within a context processing framework may provide an alternate way of interpreting prefrontal dysfunction in developmental disorders (e.g., autism and attention- deficit-hyperactivity disorder), and provide new avenues of investigation for those developmental disorders that display consistent problems with cognitive control. The proposed research is designed to provide a systematic assessment of whether developmental differences exist in the ability to represent context information, and whether such differences are responsible for age-related changes in the attention, inhibition, and working memory functions of cognitive control during late childhood to adolescence. Obtaining a greater understanding of developmental differences in context processing and cognitive control may not only elucidate an important mechanism of healthy cognitive development, but also has the potential to provide a template for understanding prefrontal dysfunction in various developmental disorders. ? ? ?
| Lorsbach, Thomas C; Reimer, Jason F (2011) Developmental differences in the use of task goals in a cued version of the stroop task. Br J Dev Psychol 29:138-47 |
