Executive attention and metacognitive regulation

Metacognition refers to any knowledge or cognitive process that monitors or controls cognition. We highlight similarities between metacognitive and ex ecutive control functions, and ask how these processes might be implemented in the human brain. A review of brain imaging studies reveals a circuitry of attentional networks involved in these control processes, with its sourc e located in midfrontal areas. These areas are active during conflict resol ution, error correction, and emotional regulation. A developmental approach to the organization of the anatomy involved in executive control provides an added perspective on how these mechanisms are influenced by maturation a nd learning, and how they relate to metacognitive activity. (C) 2000 Academ ic Press.