Multi-modal representation of effector modality in frontal cortex during rule switching.

We report a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study which investigated whether brain areas involved in updating task rules within the frontal lobe of the cerebral cortex show activity related to the modality of motor response used in the task. Participants performed a rule switching task using different effector modalities. In some blocks participants responded with left/right button presses, whilst in other blocks left/right saccades were required. The color of a Cue event instructed a left or right response based upon a rule, followed by a Feedback which indicated whether the rule was to stay the same or "Flip" on the next trial. The findings revealed variation in the locus of activity within the ventrolateral frontal cortex dependent upon effector modality. Other frontal areas showed no significant difference in activity between response epochs but changed their pattern of connectivity with posterior cortical areas dependent upon response. Multivariate analysis revealed that the pattern of activity evoked by Flip rule Feedbacks within an apparently supra modal frontal region (dorsolateral frontal cortex) discriminated between response epochs. The results are consistent with the existence of multi-modal representations of stimulus-response (SR) rules within the frontal cerebral cortex

The British Army, information management and the First World War revolution in military affairs

Information Management (IM) – the systematic ordering, processing and channelling of information within organisations – forms a critical component of modern military command and control systems. As a subject of scholarly enquiry, however, the history of military IM has been relatively poorly served. Employing new and under-utilised archival sources, this article takes the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) of the First World War as its case study and assesses the extent to which its IM system contributed to the emergence of the modern battlefield in 1918. It argues that the demands of fighting a modern war resulted in a general, but not universal, improvement in the BEF’s IM techniques, which in turn laid the groundwork, albeit in embryonic form, for the IM systems of modern armies. KEY WORDS: British Army, Information Management, First World War, Revolution in Military Affairs, Adaptatio