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prefrontal cortex
Also known as: PFC
Facts (42)
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Adversarial testing of global neuronal workspace and ... - Nature nature.com Apr 30, 2025 38 facts
procedureResearchers used linear mixed models to track gamma frequency band (60–90 Hz) power changes from the MEG source time series across 15 posterior parcels and 11 prefrontal cortex (PFC) parcels.
procedureMEG cortical time-series analysis (N=65) extracted signals from cortical parcels in V1/V2, Prefrontal Cortex (PFC), and fusiform regions of interest, with category-selective signals obtained via a category-selective Generalized Eigenvalue Decomposition (GED) filter on fusiform activity.
claimThe experimental results for Global Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNWT) consisted of a partly challenged prediction regarding an all-or-none threshold and amplification of information updating the content of consciousness in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), and a partly supported prediction given the inconclusive result for orientation regarding global broadcasting of information in the prefrontal cortex.
measurementGeneralization in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) had an accuracy of approximately 60% and was spatially restricted to middle and inferior frontal cortex regions.
claimFunctional MRI analysis found no selective increase in interareal connectivity between object-selective nodes and the prefrontal cortex or V1/V2, even when separating task conditions.
measurementThe study population had sparse sampling of V1/V2, with only 12 electrodes localized to V1/V2 compared with 472 electrodes in the prefrontal cortex (PFC).
referenceKozuch (2024) argued against the prefrontal cortex (PFC) being the sole content of the neural correlates of consciousness (NCC) in the paper 'An embarrassment of richnesses: the PFC isn’t the content NCC' published in Neuroscience of Consciousness.
claimRegarding the maintenance of conscious percepts over time, Integrated Information Theory (IIT) predicts that conscious content is actively maintained by neural activity in the posterior ‘hot zone’ throughout the duration of a conscious experience, whereas Global Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNWT) predicts ignition events in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) at stimulus onset and offset, with activity-silent information maintenance in between.
claimOrientation decoding results were consistent across stimulus categories and data modalities in the posterior cortex, but were mostly absent in the prefrontal cortex (PFC).
claimGlobal Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNWT) posits that prefrontal cortex workspace neurons broadcast information but do not add information to the conscious experience.
procedureThe researchers compared decoding performance of electrodes from posterior regions alone versus electrodes from both posterior and prefrontal cortex (PFC) regions, excluding the inferior frontal sulcus from the PFC set.
claimIntegrated Information Theory (IIT) predicts that if prefrontal cortex activity increased decoding accuracy, the theory would be challenged.
claimRegarding interareal connectivity during conscious perception, Integrated Information Theory (IIT) predicts sustained short-range connectivity within the posterior cortex, linking low-level sensory areas like V1/V2 with high-level category-selective areas, whereas Global Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNWT) predicts long-range connectivity between high-level category-selective areas and the prefrontal cortex (PFC).
claimIntegrated Information Theory (IIT) posits that the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is not necessary for consciousness, and therefore, decoding conscious content should be most effective from the posterior cortex, with PFC activity providing no improvement in decoding accuracy.
measurementMEG DFC analysis of task-irrelevant trials without removing the evoked response reveals significant content-selective synchrony between the face-selective GED filter node and both V1/V2 and PFC regions, characterized by an increase in low-frequency connectivity (< 25 Hz) and a decrease in high-frequency connectivity (25–100 Hz).
measurementBayesian analysis (BF01 > 3) provided evidence for an intercept-only or time-varying amplitude model over the Global Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNWT) model for all electrodes in prefrontal cortex (PFC) regions of interest.
measurementCross-temporal representational similarity matrices in the Prefrontal Cortex (PFC) region of interest (N=28 patients, 576 electrodes) yielded no statistically significant results for identity or orientation contrasts.
claimThe study found no content-selective phase-phase coupling (PPC) between face-selective and object-selective electrodes and prefrontal cortex (PFC) electrodes in the relevant time window, which contradicts the prediction of Global Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNWT) (BF01 = 2.62–5.32).
claimThree control analyses—using feature selection, modified time-windows, and decoding analysis time-locked to stimulus offset—provided additional evidence for the absence of Global Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNWT)-predicted patterns in prefrontal cortex (PFC) regions of interest.
claimiEEG Pairwise phase consistency (PPC) analysis of task-irrelevant trials reveals significant content-selective synchrony in V1/V2 regions of interest, but not in Prefrontal Cortex (PFC) regions of interest.
measurementMagnetoencephalography (MEG) recordings showed selective synchronization between face-selective areas and both V1/V2 and prefrontal cortex (PFC) that was early, restricted to low frequencies (2–25 Hz), and mostly explained by stimulus-evoked responses, with Bayesian analysis supporting the null hypothesis for gamma-band synchronization (BF01 > 3).
measurementiEEG PPC analysis of task-irrelevant trials did not reveal any significant category-selective synchrony cluster in posterior or PFC regions of interest after removing the evoked response.
claimIn prefrontal cortex (PFC) regions of interest, cross-temporal representational similarity analysis (RSA) revealed transient face–object categorical representation at stimulus onset, but not at stimulus offset, resulting in no significant correlation with the Global Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNWT) onset and offset model.
claimGlobal Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNWT) predicts brief, content-specific ignition in the prefrontal cortex within 0.3–0.5 seconds after stimulus onset, followed by a decay back to baseline where information is maintained in a latent state until another ignition marks the offset of the current percept and the onset of a new one.
claimThe failure to confirm the Global Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNWT) prediction regarding the prefrontal cortex (PFC) challenges both GNWT and higher-order theories of consciousness that rely on the PFC to supply the content of visual consciousness.
measurementIn prefrontal cortex (PFC) regions of interest, significant cross-task face–object decoding accuracy was approximately 70%, with temporal generalization restricted to approximately 0.2–0.4 seconds.
procedureResearchers extracted a Generalized Eigenvalue Decomposition (GED) spatial filter for the Prefrontal Cortex (PFC) Region of Interest (ROI) using parcels from the Destrieux atlas to identify distributed source patterns responsive to visually presented stimuli.
measurementMEG PPC analysis of task-irrelevant trials with a sample size of 65 reveals significant category-selective synchrony below 25 Hz for face-selective GED filters in both V1/V2 and PFC regions of interest, and for object-selective synchrony in the PFC region of interest only.
measurementAmong 31 patients, 29.5% (194 of 657) of posterior region of interest (ROI) electrodes and 18.7% (123 of 655) of prefrontal cortex (PFC) ROI electrodes exhibited high gamma responses to stimuli.
procedureThe study focused on testing the competing biological implementations of Integrated Information Theory (IIT) and Global Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNWT) by targeting brain regions where their predictions diverge most notably: the posterior cortex for IIT and the prefrontal cortex (PFC) for GNWT.
claimNone of the 655 prefrontal cortex (PFC) electrodes measured the temporal profile of onset and offset predicted by Global Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNWT).
measurementMagnetoencephalography (MEG) recordings showed brief dynamic functional connectivity (DFC) in the alpha–beta frequency bands between face-selective nodes and both the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and V1/V2.
claimIntegrated Information Theory (IIT) predicts that conscious content is maximal in posterior brain areas, whereas Global Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNWT) predicts a necessary role for the prefrontal cortex (PFC).
measurementSignificant connectivity was observed between the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and both face-selective and object-selective areas in the gamma frequency band within the time window predicted by Global Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNWT).
claimGlobal Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNWT) faces a challenge regarding the representation of conscious experience contents, as the study found no representation of identity in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and only limited representation of orientation in MEG, despite these dimensions being part of the participants' conscious experience.
measurementIn prefrontal cortex (PFC) regions of interest, identity information was absent for all categories across all analyzed time windows.
perspectiveThe study questions whether the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is involved in broadcasting all conscious content as predicted by Global Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNWT), or only a subset such as abstract concepts and categories, suggesting the role of the PFC in consciousness might need to be redefined.
claimGlobal Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNWT) posits that conscious content can be decoded from prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity.
Protocol for testing global neuronal workspace and integrated ... journals.plos.org 2 facts
claimGlobal Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNWT) predicts increased connectivity from pre-stimulus to stimulus onset between the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and posterior parietal cortex (PPC), and between the PFC/PPC and sensory regions.
claimGlobal Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNWT) predicts that conscious content is encoded in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) during the stimulus onset time window.
Global workspace theory - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org 1 fact
claimBrain regions including the prefrontal cortex, anterior temporal lobe, inferior parietal lobe, and the precuneus integrate information over space and time by sending and receiving projections to and from a broad variety of distant brain regions.
An adversarial collaboration to critically evaluate theories of ... biorxiv.org Jun 26, 2023 1 fact
claimGlobal Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNWT) is challenged by the Cogitate Consortium's findings of a general lack of ignition at stimulus offset and limited representation of certain conscious dimensions in the prefrontal cortex.