Distinct Patterns of Hippocampal and Neocortical Evolution in Primates

2019 ◽  
Vol 93 (4) ◽  
pp. 171-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
David R. Vanier ◽  
Chet C. Sherwood ◽  
Jeroen B. Smaers
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Comparative Studies ◽  
Hippocampal Formation ◽  
Primate Species ◽  
Hippocampal Function ◽  
Fascia Dentata ◽  
Evolutionary Diversification ◽  
Rhinal Cortex ◽  
Executive Decision Making

Because of the central role of the hippocampus in representing spatial and temporal details of experience, comparative studies of its volume and structure are relevant to understanding the evolution of representational memory across species. The hippocampal formation, however, is organized into separate anatomical subregions with distinct functions, and little is known about the evolutionary diversification of these subregions. We investigate relative volumetric changes in hippocampal subregions across a large sample of primate species. We then compare the evolution of the hippocampal formation to the neocortex. Results across hippocampal subregions indicate that, compared to strepsirrhines, the anthropoid lineage displays a decrease in relative CA3, fascia dentata, subiculum, and rhinal cortex volume in tandem with an increase in relative neocortical volume. These findings indicate that hippocampal function in anthropoids might be substantially augmented by the executive decision-making functions of the neocortex. Humans are found to have a unique cerebral organization combining increased relative CA3, subiculum, and rhinal cortex with increased relative neocortical volumes, suggesting that these regions may play a role in behaviors that are uniquely specialized in humans.

Decision Arenas in Executive Decision Making: Cabinet Committees in Comparative Perspective

1984 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 285-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas T. Mackie ◽  
Brian W. Hogwood
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Comparative Studies ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Comparative Perspective ◽  
The Political ◽  
Formal Institutions ◽  
Executive Decision Making ◽  
Presidential Systems

Decision making in political executives is an oddly neglected subject in political science. The roles played by both formal institutions and less formal mechanisms in arriving at decisions in political executives are surprisingly understudied. There have been some important comparative studies of political executives but these have tended to focus on the role of the head of the political executive – the president or prime minister. The distinctive nature of cabinet systems as against presidential systems has been well brought out but a comparative framework for the analysis of variations among cabinet systems in the role of decision arenas other than the full cabinet has not been developed. Blondel in his wide-ranging survey of government structures gives only a passing mention to cabinet committees. Accordingly, in seeking to place the roles of cabinet committees in perspective, we have found it necessary to develop our own framework of decision arenas in cabinet systems.

The Role of the Subconscious in Executive Decision-Making

1967 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. B-519-B-526 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert C. Ferber
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Executive Decision Making

scholarly journals Columnar Processing in Primate pFC: Evidence for Executive Control Microcircuits

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (12) ◽  
pp. 2334-2347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ioan Opris ◽  
Robert E. Hampson ◽  
Greg A. Gerhardt ◽  
Theodore W. Berger ◽  
Sam A. Deadwyler
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Target Selection ◽  
Cognitive Disorders ◽  
Structural Basis ◽  
Common Denominator ◽  
Direct Demonstration ◽  
Executive Decision Making ◽  
Multielectrode Recording

A common denominator for many cognitive disorders of human brain is the disruption of neural activity within pFC, whose structural basis is primarily interlaminar (columnar) microcircuits or “minicolumns.” The importance of this brain region for executive decision-making has been well documented; however, because of technological constraints, the minicolumnar basis is not well understood. Here, via implementation of a unique conformal multielectrode recording array, the role of interlaminar pFC minicolumns in the executive control of task-related target selection is demonstrated in nonhuman primates performing a visuomotor DMS task. The results reveal target-specific, interlaminar correlated firing during the decision phase of the trial between multielectrode recording array-isolated minicolumnar pairs of neurons located in parallel in layers 2/3 and layer 5 of pFC. The functional significance of individual pFC minicolumns (separated by 40 μm) was shown by reduced correlated firing between cell pairs within single minicolumns on error trials with inappropriate target selection. To further demonstrate dependence on performance, a task-disrupting drug (cocaine) was administered in the middle of the session, which also reduced interlaminar firing in minicolumns that fired appropriately in the early (nondrug) portion of the session. The results provide a direct demonstration of task-specific, real-time columnar processing in pFC indicating the role of this type of microcircuit in executive control of decision-making in primate brain.

scholarly journals The development of spatial behaviour and the hippocampal neural representation of space

2014 ◽  
Vol 369 (1635) ◽  
pp. 20130409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Wills ◽  
Laurenz Muessig ◽  
Francesca Cacucci
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Cognition ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Hippocampal Formation ◽  
Neural Representation ◽  
Spatial Behaviour ◽  
Hippocampal Function ◽  
Representation Of Space ◽  
Position And Orientation ◽  
Active Exploration

The role of the hippocampal formation in spatial cognition is thought to be supported by distinct classes of neurons whose firing is tuned to an organism's position and orientation in space. In this article, we review recent research focused on how and when this neural representation of space emerges during development: each class of spatially tuned neurons appears at a different age, and matures at a different rate, but all the main spatial responses tested so far are present by three weeks of age in the rat. We also summarize the development of spatial behaviour in the rat, describing how active exploration of space emerges during the third week of life, the first evidence of learning in formal tests of hippocampus-dependent spatial cognition is observed in the fourth week, whereas fully adult-like spatial cognitive abilities require another few weeks to be achieved. We argue that the development of spatially tuned neurons needs to be considered within the context of the development of spatial behaviour in order to achieve an integrated understanding of the emergence of hippocampal function and spatial cognition.

Elaborating the role of reflection and individual differences in the study of folk-economic beliefs

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Arceneaux
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
History Of ◽  
Economic Beliefs

AbstractIntuitions guide decision-making, and looking to the evolutionary history of humans illuminates why some behavioral responses are more intuitive than others. Yet a place remains for cognitive processes to second-guess intuitive responses – that is, to be reflective – and individual differences abound in automatic, intuitive processing as well.

The Role of Shared Decision-Making in Audiologic Rehabilitation

2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Pryce ◽  
Amanda Hall
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Shared Decision Making ◽  
Behavior Changes ◽  
Shared Decision ◽  
Patient Centered ◽  
Treatment Information ◽  
Centered Care ◽  
Potential Risks ◽  
Audiologic Rehabilitation

Shared decision-making (SDM), a component of patient-centered care, is the process in which the clinician and patient both participate in decision-making about treatment; information is shared between the parties and both agree with the decision. Shared decision-making is appropriate for health care conditions in which there is more than one evidence-based treatment or management option that have different benefits and risks. The patient's involvement ensures that the decisions regarding treatment are sensitive to the patient's values and preferences. Audiologic rehabilitation requires substantial behavior changes on the part of patients and includes benefits to their communication as well as compromises and potential risks. This article identifies the importance of shared decision-making in audiologic rehabilitation and the changes required to implement it effectively.

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