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We attempted to identify brain regions functionally lateralized during cognitive tasks
traditionally linked to the prefrontal cortex (PFC) by measuring regional cerebral
blood flow with H215O positron emission tomography (PET). Fourteen normal subjects were scanned six times
while performing six different cognitive conditions comprising three task paradigms
putatively sensitive to PFC integrity: the Wisconsin Card Sort (WCS), Delayed Response
Alternation (DA), and the Spatial Delayed Response (SDR) Tasks, and three matched
sensorimotor control tasks. Multivariate and repeated measures analyses indicated
that for all three cognitive paradigms there were no significant hemisphere, hemisphere-by-condition,
or hemisphere-by-region effects. However, with more liberal statistical comparison
(paired t tests), the superior frontal gyrus showed lateralization during both the
WCS and SDR tasks (both R > L). These results suggest that, although some asymmetries
may be found using liberal analyses, there is less evidence of lateralized brain function
during performance of these tasks of PFC function, than in language and motor systems.
Implications for testing PFC function in neuropsychiatric groups are discussed.
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Article info
Publication history
Received in revised form:
March 6,
1995
Received:
August 22,
1994
Identification
Copyright
© 1996 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc.
