Anterior cingulate activation during cognitive control relates to academic performance in medical students

Academic performance is in part determined by cognitive control, the skill of flexibly guiding behavior. The lateral and medial prefrontal cortex, including anterior cingulate cortex, are involved during tasks of cognitive control. Little is known about the relation between brain mechanisms underlying cognitive control and academic performance in a real-world educational environment. In the current fMRI study, Freshman students from Medical College performed a Go/NoGo task and a Stroop task. A positive correlation was observed between average course grades and activation of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex during cognitive inhibition on the Stroop task. No significant correlation was found between grades and activation in rostral anterior cingulate cortex during emotional inhibition. Grades were not associated with prefrontal activation during motor inhibition or performance monitoring on the Go/NoGo task. These findings suggest that engagement of dorsal anterior cingulate cortex for cognitive control can be linked to individual differences in academic achievement.