PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Alexander B. Herman
AU  - Elliot H. Smith
AU  - Catherine A. Schevon
AU  - Mark Yates
AU  - Guy M. McKhann
AU  - Matthew Botvinick
AU  - Benjamin Y. Hayden
AU  - Sameer Anil Sheth
TI  - Pre-trial predictors of conflict response efficacy in human dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
AID  - 10.1101/2021.07.07.451322
DP  - 2021 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 2021.07.07.451322
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/07/09/2021.07.07.451322.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/07/09/2021.07.07.451322.full
AB  - The ability to perform motor actions depends, in part, on the brain’s initial state, that is, the ensemble firing rate pattern prior to the initiation of action. We hypothesized that the same principle would apply to cognitive functions as well. To test this idea, we examined a unique set of single unit data collected in human dorsolateral prefrontal (dlPFC) cortex. Data were collected in a conflict task that interleaves Simon (motor-type) and Eriksen (flanker-type) conflict trials. In dlPFC, variability in pre-trial firing rate predicted the ability to resolve conflict, as inferred from reaction times. Ensemble patterns that predicted faster Simon reaction times overlapped slightly with those predicting Erikson performance, indicating that the two conflict types are associated with near-orthogonal initial states, and suggesting that there is a weak abstract or amodal conflict preparatory state in this region. These codes became fully orthogonalized in the response state. We interpret these results in light of the initial state hypothesis, arguing that the firing patterns in dlPFC immediately preceding the start of a task predispose it for the efficient implementation of cognitive action.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.