Collaborative roles of temporoparietal junction and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in different types of behavioural flexibility

Abstract

Behavioural fexibility is essential for everyday life. This involves shifting attention between diferent perspectives. Previous studies suggest that fexibility is mainly subserved by the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). However, although rarely emphasized, the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) is frequently recruited during fexible behaviour. A crucial question is whether TPJ plays a role in diferent types of fexibility, compared to its limited role in perceptual fexibility. We hypothesized that TPJ activity during diverse fexibility tasks plays a common role in stimulus-driven attention-shifting, thereby contributing to diferent types of fexibility, and thus the collaboration between DLPFC and TPJ might serve as a more appropriate mechanism than DLPFC alone. We used fMRI to measure DLPFC/TPJ activity recruited during moral fexibility, and examined its efect on other domains of fexibility (economic/perceptual). Here, we show the additional, yet crucial role of TPJ: a combined DLPFC/TPJ activity predicted fexibility, regardless of domain. Diferent types of fexibility might rely on more basic attentionshifting, which highlights the behavioural signifcance of alternatives.