Keynote Lecture 3

Friday, September 30th,   2011 [16:20 - 17:20]

TALKS

Functional organization of executive functions: asymmetries along the x-axis

Vallesi, A.

International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA)

This talk will focus on the fractionation of cognitive functions within prefrontal cortex. In the preamble, I will detail the working hypothesis that some complementary and computationally diverse executive processes are dissociable not only functionally but also anatomically along the left-right axis of the prefrontal cortex and its connected networks. In particular, criterion setting - the capacity to set up novel task rules or associations between stimuli and/or responses - is more left-lateralized; monitoring - the process of continuously tracking probabilistic structures in the internal or external environment to optimize behavior - is instead more right-lateralized. Several lines of empirical evidence, including neuroimaging, neuropsychological, behavioral and developmental data, will be presented to support this model.