The functional anatomy of cognitive control: A domain‐general brain network for uncertainty processing

Cognitive control is the coordination of mental operations under conditions of uncertainty in accordance with goal‐directed behaviors, and plays a key role in the domains of executive control, working memory, and decision‐making. Although there is emerging evidence of common involvement of the cognitive control network (CCN) of the brain in these domains, this network has mostly been linked to the processing of conflict, which is just one case of an increase in uncertainty. Here, we conducted an activation‐likelihood‐estimation‐based large‐scale meta‐analysis of 289 functional magnetic resonance imaging studies in the three domains to examine the common involvement of the CCN in uncertainty processing by contrasting the high‐uncertainty versus low‐uncertainty conditions. We found a general association between increase in uncertainty and an activation increase in regions of the CCN, including the frontoparietal network (comprising the frontal eye fields, the areas near and along the intraparietal sulcus, and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex), the cingulo‐opercular network (including the anterior cingulate cortex extending to the supplementary motor area, and the anterior insular cortex), and a subcortical structure (the striatum). These results demonstrate that the CCN is a domain‐general construct underlying uncertainty processing to support goal‐directed behaviors. In this large‐scale meta‐analysis, we examined the common involvement of the cognitive control network (CCN) in uncertainty processing for three cognitive domains: executive control, working memory, and decision‐making. Results showed a general association between increase in uncertainty and an activation increase in regions of the CCN across these domains, suggesting that the CCN is a domain‐general brain network for the coordination of thoughts and actions.