scholarly journals Temporal–prefrontal cortical network for discrimination of valuable objects in long-term memory

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (9) ◽  
pp. E2135-E2144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Ghazizadeh ◽  
Whitney Griggs ◽  
David A. Leopold ◽  
Okihide Hikosaka

Remembering and discriminating objects based on their previously learned values are essential for goal-directed behaviors. While the cerebral cortex is known to contribute to object recognition, surprisingly little is known about its role in retaining long-term object–value associations. To address this question, we trained macaques to arbitrarily associate small or large rewards with many random fractal objects (>100) and then used fMRI to study the long-term retention of value-based response selectivity across the brain. We found a pronounced long-term value memory in core subregions of temporal and prefrontal cortex where, several months after training, fractals previously associated with high reward (“good” stimuli) elicited elevated fMRI responses compared with those associated with low reward (“bad” stimuli). Similar long-term value-based modulation was also observed in subregions of the striatum, amygdala, and claustrum, but not in the hippocampus. The value-modulated temporal–prefrontal subregions showed strong resting-state functional connectivity to each other. Moreover, for areas outside this core, the magnitude of long-term value responses was predicted by the strength of resting-state functional connectivity to the core subregions. In separate testing, free-viewing gaze behavior indicated that the monkeys retained stable long-term memory of object value. These results suggest an implicit and high-capacity memory mechanism in the temporal–prefrontal circuitry and its associated subcortical regions for long-term retention of object-value memories that can guide value-oriented behavior.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yinan Xu ◽  
Chantel S. Prat ◽  
Florian Sense ◽  
Hedderik van Rijn ◽  
Andrea Stocco

Despite the importance of memories in everyday life and the progress made in understanding how they are encoded and retrieved, the neural processes by which declarative memories are maintained or forgotten remain elusive. Part of the problem is that it is empirically difficult to measure the rate at which memories fade and, without such a measure, it is hard to identify the corresponding neural correlates. This study addresses this problem using a combination of individual differences, model-based inferences, and resting-state functional connectivity. The individual-specific values of rate of forgetting in long-term memory (LTM) were estimated for 33 participants using a formal model fit to data from an adaptive fact learning task. Individual rates of forgetting were then used to examine participant-specific patterns of resting-state fMRI connectivity, using machine-learning techniques to identify the most predictive and generalizable features. Consistent with the existing literature, our results identified a sparse, distributed network of cortical and subcortical regions that underlies forgetting in LTM. Cross-validation showed that individual rates of forgetting were predicted with high accuracy (r = .96) from this connectivity pattern alone. These results open up new opportunities for the study of individual differences in LTM function and dysfunction.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 20190912
Author(s):  
Rachael C. Shaw ◽  
Annette Harvey

Long-term memory is a crucial adaptation for long-lived species. However, there have been few tests of the long-term retention of learned behaviours in free living, wild animals. Here, we demonstrate that the North Island robin ( Petroica longipes ; hereafter toutouwai) can recall a learned foraging behaviour for close to 2 years, with no intervening reinforcement. Birds that had been trained to peck open lids to retrieve a concealed food reward spontaneously solved a lid opening task between 10 and 22 months since they had last encountered the lid opening apparatus. By contrast, naive individuals could not solve the task. This long-term retention of a learned skill with no reinforcement, spanning over a quarter of the median age for wild toutouwai in our population, suggests that this threatened species may be an ideal candidate for conservation management strategies aimed at teaching individuals about novel threats and resources.


2008 ◽  
Vol 100 (5) ◽  
pp. 2948-2955 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wilsaan M. Joiner ◽  
Maurice A. Smith

Extensive theoretical, psychophysical, and neurobiological work has focused on the mechanisms by which short-term learning develops into long-term memory. Better understanding of these mechanisms may lead to the ability to improve the efficiency of training procedures. A key phenomenon in the formation of long-term memory is the effect of over learning on retention—discovered by Ebbinghaus in 1885: when the initial training period in a task is prolonged even beyond what is necessary for good immediate recall, long-term retention improves. Although this over learning effect has received considerable attention as a phenomenon in psychology research, the mechanisms governing this process are not well understood, and the ability to predict the benefit conveyed by varying degrees of over learning does not yet exist. Here we studied the relationship between the duration of an initial training period and the amount of retention 24 h later for the adaptation of human reaching arm movements to a novel force environment. We show that in this motor adaptation task, the amount of long-term retention is predicted not by the overall performance level achieved during the training period but rather by the level of a specific component process in a multi-rate model of short-term memory formation. These findings indicate that while multiple learning processes determine the ability to learn a motor adaptation, only one provides a gateway to long-term memory formation. Understanding the dynamics of this key learning process may allow for the rational design of training and rehabilitation paradigms that maximize the long-term benefit of each session.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachael Shaw ◽  
A Harvey

© 2020 The Authors. Long-term memory is a crucial adaptation for long-lived species. However, there have been few tests of the long-term retention of learned behaviours in free living, wild animals. Here, we demonstrate that the North Island robin (Petroica longipes; hereafter toutouwai) can recall a learned foraging behaviour for close to 2 years, with no intervening reinforcement. Birds that had been trained to peck open lids to retrieve a concealed food reward spontaneously solved a lid opening task between 10 and 22 months since they had last encountered the lid opening apparatus. By contrast, naive individuals could not solve the task. This long-term retention of a learned skill with no reinforcement, spanning over a quarter of the median age for wild toutouwai in our population, suggests that this threatened species may be an ideal candidate for conservation management strategies aimed at teaching individuals about novel threats and resources.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachael Shaw ◽  
A Harvey

© 2020 The Authors. Long-term memory is a crucial adaptation for long-lived species. However, there have been few tests of the long-term retention of learned behaviours in free living, wild animals. Here, we demonstrate that the North Island robin (Petroica longipes; hereafter toutouwai) can recall a learned foraging behaviour for close to 2 years, with no intervening reinforcement. Birds that had been trained to peck open lids to retrieve a concealed food reward spontaneously solved a lid opening task between 10 and 22 months since they had last encountered the lid opening apparatus. By contrast, naive individuals could not solve the task. This long-term retention of a learned skill with no reinforcement, spanning over a quarter of the median age for wild toutouwai in our population, suggests that this threatened species may be an ideal candidate for conservation management strategies aimed at teaching individuals about novel threats and resources.


Author(s):  
Wesley Pyke ◽  
Athanasios Vostanis ◽  
Amir-Homayoun Javadi

AbstractAnodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) has been shown to improve performance on a multitude of cognitive tasks. These are, however, often simple tasks, testing only one cognitive domain at a time. Therefore, the efficacy of brain stimulation for complex tasks has yet to be understood. Using a task designed to increase learning efficiency, this study investigates whether anodal tDCS over the left DLPFC can modulate both learning ability and subsequent long-term memory retention. Using a within-subject design, participants (N = 25) took part in 6 training sessions over consecutive days in which active or sham stimulation was administered randomly (3 of each). A computer-based task was used, containing flags from countries unknown to the participants. Each training session consisted of the repetition of 8 pairs of flag/country names. Subsequently, in three testing sessions, free, cued, and timed cued recall, participants were assessed on all 48 flags they had learnt. No difference in learning speed between active and sham tDCS was found. Furthermore, in the timed cued recall phase, flags learnt in the sham tDCS sessions were recalled significantly better than flags learnt in the active tDCS sessions. This effect was stronger in the second testing session. It was also found that for the flags answered incorrectly; thus, meaning they were presented more frequently, subsequent long-term retention was improved. These results suggest that for a complex task, anodal tDCS is ineffective at improving learning speed and potentially detrimental to long-term retention when employed during encoding. This serves to highlight the complex nature of brain stimulation, providing a greater understanding of its limitations and drawbacks.


1975 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 783-786 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Bohac Flood

4 normal and 4 forebrain-ablated fish were food-reinforced for correct choice in a circle-square discrimination task; both groups readily learned the task. When the fish were tested after 8 days of a practice-free retention interval, both groups performed equally well and at the same level as their earlier asymptote. The results of this study indicate that long-term memory function of teleosts is not affected by forebrain ablation.


1971 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 957-958
Author(s):  
Larry W. Talkington

4 groups of educable, teenage retardates learned a motor task, each under a different token contingency condition. 14 days later, Ss were tested on two retention measures to determine relationship between reinforcement condition and long-term memory. The recall measure indicated that a response-cost condition resulted in higher recall than the reward, combination cost/reward or non-token controls, however, a savings score analysis did not demonstrate treatment differences.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bidhan Lamichhane ◽  
Andy G. S. Daniel ◽  
John J. Lee ◽  
Daniel S. Marcus ◽  
Joshua S. Shimony ◽  
...  

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most frequently occurring brain malignancy. Due to its poor prognosis with currently available treatments, there is a pressing need for easily accessible, non-invasive techniques to help inform pre-treatment planning, patient counseling, and improve outcomes. In this study we determined the feasibility of resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) to classify GBM patients into short-term and long-term survival groups with respect to reported median survival (14.6 months). We used a support vector machine with rsFC between regions of interest as predictive features. We employed a novel hybrid feature selection method whereby features were first filtered using correlations between rsFC and OS, and then using the established method of recursive feature elimination (RFE) to select the optimal feature subset. Leave-one-subject-out cross-validation evaluated the performance of models. Classification between short- and long-term survival accuracy was 71.9%. Sensitivity and specificity were 77.1 and 65.5%, respectively. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.752 (95% CI, 0.62–0.88). These findings suggest that highly specific features of rsFC may predict GBM survival. Taken together, the findings of this study support that resting-state fMRI and machine learning analytics could enable a radiomic biomarker for GBM, augmenting care and planning for individual patients.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen J. Kohut ◽  
Dionyssios Mintzopoulos ◽  
Brian D. Kangas ◽  
Hannah Shields ◽  
Kelly Brown ◽  
...  

AbstractLong-term cocaine use is associated with a variety of neural and behavioral deficits that impact daily function. This study was conducted to examine the effects of chronic cocaine self-administration on resting-state functional connectivity of the dorsal anterior cingulate (dACC) and putamen—two brain regions involved in cognitive function and motoric behavior—identified in a whole brain analysis. Six adult male squirrel monkeys self-administered cocaine (0.32 mg/kg/inj) over 140 sessions. Six additional monkeys that had not received any drug treatment for ~1.5 years served as drug-free controls. Resting-state fMRI imaging sessions at 9.4 Tesla were conducted under isoflurane anesthesia. Functional connectivity maps were derived using seed regions placed in the left dACC or putamen. Results show that cocaine maintained robust self-administration with an average total intake of 367 mg/kg (range: 299–424 mg/kg). In the cocaine group, functional connectivity between the dACC seed and regions primarily involved in motoric behavior was weaker, whereas connectivity between the dACC seed and areas implicated in reward and cognitive processing was stronger. In the putamen seed, weaker widespread connectivity was found between the putamen and other motor regions as well as with prefrontal areas that regulate higher-order executive function; stronger connectivity was found with reward-related regions. dACC connectivity was associated with total cocaine intake. These data indicate that functional connectivity between regions involved in motor, reward, and cognitive processing differed between subjects with recent histories of cocaine self-administration and controls; in dACC, connectivity appears to be related to cumulative cocaine dosage during chronic exposure.


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