The role of the frontopolar cortex in manipulation of integrated information in working memory

Cognitive operations often require integration of information. Previous studies have shown that, integration of information in working memory recruits frontopolar cortex (FPC). In this fMRI study, we sought to reveal neural mechanisms of FPC underlying the integration of information during arithmetic tasks. We compared a condition requiring manipulation of two features of an item held in working memory with manipulation of one feature. The results showed that, FPC was equally recruited in both conditions, while dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) tended to be more activated when manipulating two features. We suggest that, FPC plays an integrative role and is recruited by the production of representations in accordance with task constraints, whereas DLPFC appears to be sensitive to processing demands induced by the manipulation of information.