Neuroscience 2003 Abstract
| Presentation Number: | 722.14 |
|---|---|
| Abstract Title: | Representation of context in primate prefrontal cortex during visually guided saccadic eye movements. |
| Authors: |
Messinger, A.*1
; Lebedev, M. A.
; Kralik, J. D.1
; Wise, S. P.1
1Lab. Sys Neurosci, NIMH, Bethesda, MD |
| Primary Theme and Topics |
Cognition and Behavior - Animal Cognition and Behavior -- Executive function |
| Secondary Theme and Topics | Cognition and Behavior<br />- Animal Cognition and Behavior<br />-- Attention |
| Session: |
722. Animal Cognition & Behavior: Executive Function & Attention Poster |
| Presentation Time: | Tuesday, November 11, 2003 2:00 PM-3:00 PM |
| Location: | Morial Convention Center - Hall F-I, Board # I82 |
| Keywords: | SPATIAL MEMORY, SPATIAL ATTENTION, COGNITIVE, FRONTAL LOBE |
We recorded the activity of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (PFdl) neurons in two rhesus monkeys performing saccades from a central fixation point to either a remembered or an attended location. A peripheral light spot appeared at one location (0, 90, 180, or 270°), which the monkey had to remember, and then rotated to a new location, which the monkey had to attend to in order to detect a subtle luminance change. Brightening of the light spot instructed a saccade to its initial (remembered) location while dimming instructed a saccade to its current (attended) location. Our previous analysis (Lebedev et al., SFN Abstracts, 2002) showed that, prior to the luminance change, more PFdl neurons encoded the attended location than the remembered one (64% to 17%). The present analysis focused on trials on which the spot dimmed and the monkeys correctly made a saccade to the spot’s current (attended) location. The perisaccadic activity of 498 PFdl neurons was tuned for the spot’s location (ANOVA, p≦0.05). We compared activity for saccades made in one context (Context 1), in which the remembered and attended locations differed (90, 180, or 270° rotations) versus for saccades made in a second context (Context 2), in which these locations coincided (no spot rotation or rotation of 360°). For 15% (72/498) of the neurons, firing rates in the two contexts were significantly different for saccades in each neuron’s preferred direction (Mann-Whitney U test, p≦0.05). Thus, despite the fact that the monkeys made saccades from the fixation point towards a dimmed spot in the same location on all selected trials, these neurons nevertheless reflected the experimental context. In Context 1 the saccade target was distinct from the spot's remembered location so that on these trials, unlike on Context 2 trials, there were potentially greater demands on spatial memory, more than one motor plan, and a division of spatial attention.
Supported by DIRP NIMH
Sample Citation:
[Authors]. [Abstract Title]. Program No. XXX.XX. 2003 Neuroscience Meeting Planner. New Orleans, LA: Society for Neuroscience, 2003. Online.
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