Integration of diverse information in working memory within the frontal lobe

Ability to integrate diverse forms of information in current thought, or wo rking memory, is essential for human reasoning and problem solving. We used functional imaging to identify brain regions preferentially involved in ma intaining integrated versus unintegrated information in working memory. For equal amounts of verbal and spatial information, activation of prefrontal cortex was greater for maintaining integrated rather than unintegrated repr esentations. Posterior brain regions showed the opposite pattern. These res ults demonstrate frontal-lobe specialization in maintaining working-memory representations that integrate verbal and spatial information. The role of prefrontal cortex in integrating multiple forms of information in working m emory may underlie its unique contribution to high-level cognition that dem ands flexible mental representations.