Comparison of abstract decision encoding in the monkey prefrontal cortex, the presupplementary, and cingulate motor areas

2013 ◽  
Vol 110 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharina Merten ◽  
Andreas Nieder
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Motor Planning ◽  
Motor Preparation ◽  
Neuron Activity ◽  
Critical Element ◽  
Cingulate Motor Area ◽  
Monkey Prefrontal Cortex

Deciding between alternatives is a critical element of flexible behavior. Perceptual decisions have been studied extensively in an action-based framework. Recently, we have shown that abstract perceptual decisions are encoded in prefrontal cortex (PFC) neurons ( Merten and Nieder 2012 ). However, the role of other frontal cortex areas remained elusive. Here, we trained monkeys to perform a rule-based visual detection task that disentangled abstract perceptual decisions from motor preparation. We recorded the single-neuron activity in the presupplementary (preSMA) and the rostral part of the cingulate motor area (CMAr) and compared it to the results previously found in the PFC. Neurons in both areas traditionally identified with motor planning process the abstract decision independently of any motor preparatory activity by similar mechanisms as the PFC. A larger proportion of decision neurons and a higher strength of decision encoding was found in the preSMA than in the PFC. Neurons in both areas reliably predicted the monkeys' decisions. The fraction of CMAr decision neurons and their strength of the decision encoding were comparable to the PFC. Our findings highlight the role of both preSMA and CMAr in abstract cognitive processing and emphasize that both frontal areas encode decisions prior to the preparation of a motor output.

Intact Proactive Motor Inhibition after Unilateral Prefrontal Cortex or Basal Ganglia Lesions

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Matthias Liebrand ◽  
Anne-Kristin Solbakk ◽  
Ingrid Funderud ◽  
Macià Buades-Rotger ◽  
Robert T. Knight ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Basal Ganglia ◽  
Contingent Negative Variation ◽  
Motor Preparation ◽  
Motor Inhibition ◽  
Critical Importance ◽  
Electrophysiological Activity ◽  
Preparatory Attention ◽  
External Signals

Previous research provided evidence for the critical importance of the prefrontal cortex (pFC) and basal ganglia (BG) for reactive motor inhibition, that is, when actions are cancelled in response to external signals. Less is known about the role of the pFC and BG in proactive motor inhibition, referring to preparation for an upcoming stop signal. In this study, patients with unilateral lesions to the BG or lateral pFC performed in a cued go/no-go task, whereas their EEG was recorded. The paradigm called for cue-based preparation for upcoming, lateralized no-go signals. Based on previous findings, we focused on EEG indices of cognitive control (prefrontal beta), motor preparation (sensorimotor mu/beta, contingent negative variation [CNV]), and preparatory attention (occipital alpha, CNV). On a behavioral level, no differences between patients and controls were found, suggesting an intact ability to proactively prepare for motor inhibition. Patients showed an altered preparatory CNV effect, but no other differences in electrophysiological activity related to proactive and reactive motor inhibition. Our results suggest a context-dependent role of BG and pFC structures in motor inhibition, being critical in reactive, unpredictable contexts, but less so in situations where one can prepare for stopping on a short timescale.

Role of monkey prefrontal cortex in temporal processing

2007 ◽  
Vol 58 ◽  
pp. S113
Author(s):  
Naosugi Yumoto ◽  
Xiaofeng Lu ◽  
Shigehiro Miyachi ◽  
Atsushi Nambu ◽  
Tomoki Fukai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Temporal Processing ◽  
Monkey Prefrontal Cortex

scholarly journals The Prefrontal Cortex and Oculomotor Delayed Response: A Reconsideration of the “Mnemonic Scotoma”

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 627-635 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satoshi Tsujimoto ◽  
Bradley R. Postle
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Target Location ◽  
Delayed Response ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Neuroscience Research ◽  
Analysis Window ◽  
Corrective Saccade ◽  
Response Task ◽  
Monkey Prefrontal Cortex

The concept of the “mnemonic scotoma,” a spatially circumscribed region of working memory impairment produced by unilateral lesions of the PFC, is central to the view that PFC is critical for the short-term retention of information. Presented here, however, are previously unpublished data that offer an alternative, nonmnemonic interpretation of this pattern of deficit. In their study, Wajima and Sawaguchi [Wajima, K., & Sawaguchi, T. The role of GABAergic inhibiton in suppressing perseverative responses in the monkey prefrontal cortex. Neuroscience Research, 50(Suppl. 1), P3–P317, 2004] applied the GABAA antagonist bicuculline methiodide unilaterally to the PFC of two monkeys while they performed an oculomotor delayed-response task. Consistent with previous studies, errors for the initial memory-guided saccade were markedly higher when the cued location fell into the region of the visual field affected by the infusion. These erroneous saccades tended to select an alternative target location (out of a possible 16) that had not been cued on that trial. By extending the analysis window, however, it was observed that the second, “corrective” saccade often acquired the location that had been cued on that trial. Further analysis of the erroneous initial saccades indicated that they tended to be directed to a location that had been relevant on the previous trial. Thus, the deficit was not one of “forgetting” the cued location. Rather, it was one of selecting between currently and previously relevant locations. These findings suggest a need for a reconsideration of the concept of the mnemonic scotoma, which in turn invites a reconsideration of functional interpretations of sustained neuronal activity in PFC.

The Role of Prefrontal Cortex in Sensory Memory and Motor Preparation: An Event-Related fMRI Study

NeuroImage ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 400-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. D'Esposito ◽  
D. Ballard ◽  
E. Zarahn ◽  
G.K. Aguirre
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Motor Preparation ◽  
Sensory Memory ◽  
Fmri Study

scholarly journals Fixation target representation in prefrontal cortex during the antisaccade task

2017 ◽  
Vol 117 (6) ◽  
pp. 2152-2162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Zhou ◽  
Christos Constantinidis
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Eye Movements ◽  
Eye Movement ◽  
Visual Stimulus ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Neuron Activity ◽  
Antisaccade Task ◽  
Subcortical Structures ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal

Neurons that discharge strongly during the time period of fixation of a visual target and cease to discharge before saccade initiation have been described in the brain stem, superior colliculus, and cortical areas. In subcortical structures, fixation neurons play a reciprocal role with saccadic neurons during the generation of eye movements. Their role in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is less obvious, and it is not known if they are activated by fixation, inhibit saccade generation, or play a role in more complex functions such as the inhibition of inappropriate responses. We examined the properties of prefrontal fixation neurons in the context of an antisaccade task, which requires an eye movement directed away from a prepotent visual stimulus. We tested monkeys with variants of the task, allowing us to dissociate activity synchronized on the fixation offset, presentation of the visual stimulus, and saccadic onset. Fixation neuron activity latency was most strongly tied to the offset of the fixation point across task variants. It was not well predicted by the appearance of the visual stimulus, which is essential for planning of the correct eye movement and inhibiting inappropriate ones. Activity of fixation neurons was generally negatively correlated with that of saccade neurons; however, critical differences in timing make it unlikely that they provide precisely timed signals for the generation of eye movements. These results demonstrate the role of fixation neurons in the prefrontal cortex during tasks requiring timing of appropriate eye movement and inhibition of inappropriate actions. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Properties of neurons that discharge during eye fixation and go silent before saccade initiation have been described in subcortical structures involved in eye movement generation, but their role in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex presents a puzzle. Our results demonstrate the role of fixation neurons in the prefrontal cortex during tasks requiring precise timing of appropriate eye movement and inhibition of inappropriate actions.

Introduction

1996 ◽  
Vol 351 (1346) ◽  
pp. 1389-1395 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Cortical Region ◽  
Psychological Processes ◽  
The Past ◽  
Emotional Processes ◽  
Executive Processing ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Precise Role

One of the major debates in studies of the prefrontal cortex has been whether this cortical region should be considered to have unitary or heterogeneous functions. In the past, progress in addressing this issue has been hampered by an inadequacy in our understanding of the complex cognitive and emotional processes that may be subserved by this region of the brain. Whilst poor judgement, planning and decision making were recognizable characteristics of damage to the prefrontal cortex, the component psychological processes that contributed to these complex cognitive capacities were poorly understood, making it difficult to characterize the precise role of the prefrontal cortex in the expression of these functions. Moreover, the commonly used, but ill-defined terms of 'executive processing' and 'higher-order cognitive processing', used to describe the overall function of the prefrontal cortex, have only added to the confusion.

The Role of Social Functioning in Outcome of Cognitive Processing Therapy for Military-Related PTSD

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Ranslow ◽  
Kim Lyon-Pratt ◽  
Amanda Ferrier ◽  
Katharine Elliott ◽  
Alexandra Macdonald ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Functioning ◽  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Cognitive Processing Therapy

The role of Record of Rights (Khatian) in determining title or possession: An overview

IIUC Studies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 33-46
Author(s):  
Kalim Ullah
Keyword(s):  
Human Life ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Critical Element ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Supportive Evidence ◽  
Land Administration ◽  
Holy Quran ◽  
The Holy Quran ◽  
Religious Systems

Human beings are deeply related to land. Human beings take birth on land, live on land, die on land and mixes with land ultimately. As stated in the holy Quran: ‘We (Allah) created you (human beings) from the soil, we shall make you return to the soil and We shall call you back again from the soil’ (20:55). Human life is surrounded by soil i.e. land. So, land is a highly completed issue of human life involving economic, social, political, cultural and often religious systems. Land administration is thus a critical element and often a pre-condition for peaceful society and sustainable development. In administrating land, Khatian or record of rights plays a vital role to determine the rights and interests of the respective parties as supportive evidence. In this article, discussion is mainly made on the fact that Khatian or record of rights is not a document of title solely but it may be an evidence of title as well as possession. IIUC Studies Vol.15(0) December 2018: 33-46

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