Accurate localization and coactivation profiles of the FEF and IFJ: an ALE and MACM fMRI meta-analysis

The frontal eye field (FEF) and the inferior frontal junction (IFJ) are prefrontal structures involved in mediating multiple aspects of goal-driven behavior. Despite being recognized as prominent nodes of the networks underlying spatial attention and oculomotor control, and working memory and cognitive control, respectively, the limited quantitative evidence on their precise localization has considerably impeded the detailed understanding of their structure and connectivity. In this study, we performed an activation likelihood estimation (ALE) fMRI meta-analysis selecting studies that employed standard paradigms to accurately infer the localization of these regions in stereotaxic space. For FEF, we found the highest spatial convergence of activations for prosaccades and antisaccades contrasted against a fixation baseline at the junction of the precentral sulcus with the superior frontal sulcus. For IFJ, we found consistent activations across oddball/cueing, working memory, Stroop and task-switching paradigms at the junction of the precentral sulcus with the inferior frontal sulcus. We related these clusters to previous meta-analyses, sulcal/gyral neuroanatomy and a recent comprehensive brain parcellation, highlighting important differences compared with their results and taxonomy. Finally, we employed the peak coordinates of these clusters as seeds to perform a meta-analytic connectivity modeling (MACM) analysis, which revealed systematic coactivation patterns spanning the frontal, parietal and temporal cortices. We then decoded the behavioral domains associated with the coactivation patterns of each seed, suggesting that these may allow FEF and IFJ to support their respective specialized roles in flexible behavior. Our study provides meta-analytic groundwork for investigating the relationship between functional specialization and connectivity of two crucial structures within the prefrontal cortex.