Systematic Review of Neuroimaging Correlates of Executive Functioning: Converging Evidence From Different Clinical Populations
Abstract
Methods
Search Strategy
Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria
Results
Patient Groups and Diagnoses
1st Author | Year | Imaging | Sample | Test(s) of EF | Associated Region(s) | Conclusions | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Bergeson5 | 2004 | MRI | 75 TBI, 75 NC | TMT A and B | Left frontal (r=–0.41, p=0.003)a and total frontal (r=–0.37, p=0.008) (Trails B) | Frontal and temporal atrophy correlate with deficits in memory and executive function. No other significant regional correlation with tests of EF |
2 | Baillieux6 | 2010 | SPECTb | 18 focal cerebellar lesions | WCST, Stroop, TMT (A versus B not specified) | Frontal, right cerebellum | Damage to the cerebellar lobe can cause cognitive and affective disturbances. |
3 | Chang7 | 2010 | MRI | 358 MCI, 222 NC | TMT A and B, digit span backward | Bilateral frontal cortex, bilateral posterior cingulate cortex (left r=0.22; right r=0.19) | Reduced thickness in frontal lobes in MCI patients with low EF. Post hoc significant correlations with bilateral middle temporal and left inferior temporal regions. |
4 | Dickerson8 | 2010 | MRI | 61 ExMCI, 44 MemMCI, 27 ExAD, 12 MemAD | TMT A and B, BNT, AVLT, discriminability, delayed free recall, Digit symbol, digit span forward and backward | Superior frontal, superior parietal | Prominent cortical thinning in frontoparietal regions demonstrated in executive-predominant AD. |
5 | Kaller9 | 2011 | fMRI | 30 NC | ToL | Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) | Bilateral dlPFC activation in complex tasks may reflect the concomitant operation of specific cognitive process that show opposing lateralization |
6 | Kinnunen10 | 2011 | DTI | 28 TBI, 26 NC | TMT A and B, D-KEFS: color-word subtest, letter fluency | Left superior frontal white matter (Rpartial = 0.75, p<0.001), right posterior and medial parietal lobe (Rpartial = 0.30, p<0.01), | Frontal lobe connections showed relationships with executive function between two test groups in elevated mean and radial diffusivity |
7 | Koutsouleris11 | 2010 | MRI | 40 ARMS, 30 NC | TMT B | Ventromedial prefrontal cortex, cerebellum, fronto-callosal white matter | Executive deficits in the ARMS for psychosis may reflect structurally altered networks. |
8 | McDonald12 | 2010 | MRI | 103 MCI, NC 90 | TMT A and B | Bilateral dorsolateral frontal lobe, left medial prefrontal and bilateral ventrolateral prefrontal lobe. Pars orbitalis β (1, 94) = 0.33, p<0.001 | Regional association with frontal lobe atrophy and TMT-B decline. Pars orbitalis (left frontal lobe) was the only significant lobar predictor. |
9 | Pa13 | 2009 | MRI | 26 amnestic MCI, 32 dysexecutive MCI, 36 NC | TMT B, Stroop, letter fluency, abstractions | dlPFC, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex | Dysexecutive MCI had lower EF scores, increased behavioral symptoms. The brain imaging differences suggest that the two MCI subgroups have distinct patterns of brain atrophy. |
10 | Sasson14 | 2012 | DTI | 52 Normal | Stroop, Go/no-go | Frontal white matter, superior longitudinal fasciculus | Executive function correlated with DTI parameters in frontal white matter and in the superior longitudinal fasciculus. Information processing speed correlated with cingulum, corona radiata, inferior longitudinal fasciculus, parietal white matter and in the thalamus. |
11 | Schmitz15 | 2008 | MRI | 24 migraine, 24 NC | Go/no-go, Stroop, switch task | Middle frontal gyrus, inferior parietal lobe with striatum. | Network of fronto-striatal-parietal brain regions responsible for monitoring EF in migraineurs |
12 | Stricker16 | 2011 | MRI | 105 AD, 125 NC | TMT A and B, digit span backward | Frontal, parietal lobes | Overlap between normal and AD-related MRI-based morphometric changes is greater in the very old than in the young old. |
13 | Takahashi17 | 2008 | PETc | 23 Normal | WCST | Prefrontal cortex, hippocampus | Orchestration of prefrontal D1 and hippocampal D2 might be necessary for human executive function as part of a prefrontal-hippocampal pathway. No other regions studied |
14 | Toepper18 | 2010 | fMRI | 20 Normal | Corsi Block Tapping test, block suppression Test | Left dlPFC | Left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex plays a crucial role for executive controlled inhibition of spatial distraction. |
15 | Turken19 | 2009 | MRI+DTI | 1 TBI, 43 NC | TMT B, Color-word test | Frontal cortex and underlying white matter | Tests of executive function were related to cortical abnormalities in the frontal lobes. |
16 | Wolf20 | 2011 | fMRI | 16 pre-HD | WCST | Left dlPFC | Left DLPFC less active during working memory performance cross-sectionally but did not persist over time. |
17 | Connolly21 | 2012 | fMRI | 18 cocaine-dependent, 9 NC | Go/no-go task | Prefrontal, cingulate, cerebellar and inferior frontal gyrii | Integrity of prefrontal systems that underlie cognitive control functions may be an important characteristic of successful long-term abstinence |
18 | Jacobs22 | 2012 | MRI | 337 MCI | TMT-B, Stroop | Frontal-parietal (B=–0.304, p=0.023); Frontal-parietal-subcortical (B=0.355, p=0.001) | Parietal white matter hyperintensities are a significant contributor to executive decline in MCI over time. Frontal-subcortical networks did not relate significantly to executive function |
19 | Nestor23 | 2011 | fMRI | 10 MA19, 18 NC | Stroop | Right inferior frontal gyrus, supplementary motor cortex/anterior cingulate gyrus and the anterior insular cortex, posterior cingulate cortex | Hypofunction in cortical areas that are important for executive function underlies cognitive control deficits associated with MA dependence |
20 | Eslinger37 | 2011 | MRI | 26 FTD | TMT-B, Stroop | Right dlPFC, right parietal regions, and left superior temporal gyrus and temporal pole, subcortical areas of the right amygdala and left caudate | Behavioral variant FTD causes multiple types of breakdown in empathy, social cognition, and executive resources, mediated by frontal and temporal disease. |
21 | van Tol24 | 2011 | fMRI | 65 MDD, 82 MDD+anxiety, 63 NC | ToL | Left dlPFC | Prefrontal hyperactivation in MDD but NOT In anxiety. |
22 | Hunt25 | 2011 | PET26 | 10 MCI, 10 AD, 14 NC | TMT A and B | Right middle frontal cortex and the right precentral gyrus (TMT B), left middle frontal cortex (TMT A). | Executive dysfunction in AD as measured by TMT is frontal lobe mediated. |
23 | Chang26 | 2009 | DTI | 17 CO poisoning, 34 NC | Digit span backward, design fluency | Left orbitofrontal (r2 = 0.81, p=0.02), right frontal (r2 = 0.35, p=0.04) | Reduced connectivity between different cortical regions is a pathophysiologic mechanism in CO poisoning and cognitive performance. |
24 | Fine27 | 2009 | MRI | 19 AD, 25 FTD, 13 Semantic Dementia, 12 PNFA, 9 PSP, 9 NC | D-KEFS – sorting test | Left frontal lobe | Left frontal lobe significantly predicted performance on the D-KEFS Sorting Test |
25 | Segarra28 | 2008 | MRI | 28 Schizophrenia, 28 NC | TMT A and B, digit span, WCST, verbal working memory, letter-number sequencing, Controlled Oral Word Examination | Bilateral cerebellum | Cerebellar gray and white matter volume loss correlates with executive function deficits in schizophrenia. |
26 | Haldane29 | 2008 | MRI | 44 Bipolar disorder, I, 44 NC | Stroop | Dorsal and ventral PFC, right parietal (compensatory) | PFC dysfunction in bipolar I with compensatory involvement of the parietal cortices through response inhibition |
27 | Sim30 | 2007 | MRI | 40 Cocaine dependent, 41 NC | TMT A and B, Stroop | Bilateral Cerebellum (Pearson: left=–0.70; right=–0.75)d | Cerebellum vulnerable to cocaine-associated brain volume changes. Cerebellar and frontal, temporal, and thalamic changes correlate with neuropsychological deficits. |
28 | Grant31 | 2007 | DTI | 10 Borderline PD, 10 NC | TMT A and B, Stroop, WCST, Controlled Word Association Test | Posterior white matter | Posterior white matter integrity correlated with measures of executive function. |
29 | Lie32 | 2006 | fMRI | 12 Normal | WCST | Rostral and caudal ACC, right dlPFC, cerebellum, superior parietal cortex, retrosplenium | Central role of the right dlPFC in executive working memory and cognitive control. Functional dissociation of the rostral and caudal ACC in the implementation of attentional control. |
30 | Moll33 | 2002 | fMRI | 7 Normal | TMT A and B | DlPFC and medial prefrontal cortices, intraparietal sulci | Critical role of the dlPFC and medial prefrontal cortices as well as the intraparietal sulci in the regulation of cognitive flexibility, intention. |
31 | Wilmsmeier34 | 2010 | fMRI | 36 schizophrenia, 28 NC | WCST | Rostral and dorsal ACC | Set-shifting is associated with increased activation in the rostral and dorsal ACC |
32 | Schmitz35 | 2006 | fMRI | 10 ASD, 12 NC | Stroop, Go/no-go, switch test | Left inferior and orbital frontal gyrus, left insula, parietal lobes | Association between successful completion of EF tasks and increased brain activation in people with ASD |
33 | Schall36 | 2003 | PETe + fMRI | 6 Normal | ToL | Bilateral dlPFC, inferior parietal cortex, cerebellum | ToL is a useful tool for investigating particularly prefrontal dysfunction in a broad range of neuropsychiatric conditions |
Neuroimaging
EF Measures
Neural Correlates of EF Measures
Dementia | Brain Injury | Other Neurological | Psychosis | Affective and Personality | Substance Use | Normal |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Frontal, cingulate cortex7 | Frontal5 | Frontal and cerebellum6 | Frontal, cerebellum11 | Frontal24 | Frontal, cerebellar21 | Frontal, parietal, cerebellar32 |
Frontal, parietal8 | Frontal, parietal10 | Frontal, parietal15 | Cerebellum28 | Frontal, Parietal29 | Cingulate23 | Frontal9 |
Frontal12 | Frontal19 | Frontal20 | Anterior cingulate cortex34 | “Posterior”31 | Cerebellar30 | Anterior cingulate, frontal, cerebellar, parietal36 |
Frontal/prefrontal | Frontal26 | Frontal14 | ||||
Frontal, parietal16 | Frontal, parietal35 | Frontal17 | ||||
Frontal, parietal22 | Frontal33 | |||||
Frontal, parietal, temporal, amygdala, caudate37 | Frontal18 | |||||
Frontal | ||||||
Frontal27 |
ToL | TMT A or B | WCST | Stroop | D-KEFS Sorting | Go-no-go | Letter Fluency |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Frontal24 | Frontal25 | Frontal20 | Frontal, cingulate cortex23 | Frontal27 | Frontal, cingulum, cerebellum21 | Frontal, parietal10 |
Frontal24 | Frontal5 | Frontal17 | Parietal29 | Frontal13 | ||
Frontal, parietal, cerebellum36 | Frontal33 | ACC, frontal, parietal, cerebellum32 | Frontal, parietal8 | Cerebellum28 | ||
Frontal9 | Frontal, cerebellum11 | ACC34 | Posterior white matter31 | |||
Frontal5 | Frontal-parietal-subcortical22 | |||||
Frontal, parietal8 | ||||||
Frontal, parietal10 |
Discussion
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