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. 2006 Oct 31;1(1):71–84. doi: 10.1007/s11571-006-9007-4

The influences of task difficulty and response correctness on neural systems supporting fluid reasoning

M Layne Kalbfleisch 1,2,✉, John W Van Meter 1, Thomas A Zeffiro 1
PMCID: PMC2288952  PMID: 19003497

Abstract

This functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study examined neural contributions to managing task difficulty and response correctness during fluid reasoning. Previous studies investigate reasoning by independently varying visual complexity or task difficulty, or the specific domain. Under natural conditions these factors interact in a complex manner to support dynamic combinations of perceptual and conceptual processes. This study investigated fluid reasoning under circumstances that would represent the cognitive flexibility of real life decision-making. Results from a mixed effects analysis corrected for multiple comparisons indicate involvement of cortical and subcortical areas during fluid reasoning. A 2 × 2 ANOVA illustrates activity related to variances in task difficulty correlated with increased blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD)-signal in the left middle frontal gyrus (BA6). Activity related to response correctness correlated with increased BOLD-signal in a larger, distributed system including right middle frontal gyrus (BA6), right superior parietal lobule (BA7), left inferior parietal lobule (BA40), left lingual gyrus (BA19), and left cerebellum (Lobule VI). The dissociation of function in left BA 6 for task difficulty and right BA6 for response correctness and the involvement of a more diffuse network involving the left cerebellum in response correctness extends knowledge about contributions of classic motor and premotor areas supporting higher level cognition.

Keywords: fMRI, Matrix reasoning, Middle frontal gyrus, Brodmann area 6, Cerebellum, Fluid reasoning, Cognitive flexibility

Acknowledgements

Support for this research was provided by NIMH grant IU54MH066417, NICHD grant HD40677, Ginger Pomata, Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study, and Office of the Provost, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA. We wish to thank Clare Timbie for her help with task design, and Amanda L. Wolfe, Erin R. Mease-Ference and Laura E. Girton for their help with data collection. Permission to adapt the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test was obtained from Harcourt Publishing, San Antonio, TX.

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