scholarly journals Distributed functions of prefrontal and parietal cortices during sequential categorical decisions

eLife ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Zhou ◽  
Matthew C Rosen ◽  
Sruthi K Swaminathan ◽  
Nicolas Y Masse ◽  
Ou Zhu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Motor Planning ◽  
Recurrent Networks ◽  
Neuronal Responses ◽  
Input Output ◽  
Sequential Decisions ◽  
Stimulus Evaluation ◽  
Key Features ◽  
Nonlinear Integration ◽  
Parietal Cortices

Comparing sequential stimuli is crucial for guiding complex behaviors. To understand mechanisms underlying sequential decisions, we compared neuronal responses in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), the lateral intraparietal (LIP), and medial intraparietal (MIP) areas in monkeys trained to decide whether sequentially presented stimuli were from matching (M) or nonmatching (NM) categories. We found that PFC leads M/NM decisions, whereas LIP and MIP appear more involved in stimulus evaluation and motor planning, respectively. Compared to LIP, PFC showed greater nonlinear integration of currently visible and remembered stimuli, which correlated with the monkeys’ M/NM decisions. Furthermore, multi-module recurrent networks trained on the same task exhibited key features of PFC and LIP encoding, including nonlinear integration in the PFC-like module, which was causally involved in the networks’ decisions. Network analysis found that nonlinear units have stronger and more widespread connections with input, output, and within-area units, indicating putative circuit-level mechanisms for sequential decisions.

scholarly journals Distributed functions of prefrontal and parietal cortices during sequential categorical decisions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Zhou ◽  
Matthew Rosen ◽  
Sruthi K. Swaminathan ◽  
Nicolas Y. Masse ◽  
Oliver Zhu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Recurrent Neural Networks ◽  
Decision Process ◽  
Motor Planning ◽  
Neuronal Responses ◽  
Sequential Decisions ◽  
Sensory Inputs ◽  
Neuronal Mechanisms ◽  
Key Features ◽  
Nonlinear Integration ◽  
Parietal Cortices

AbstractThe ability to compare sequential sensory inputs is crucial for solving many behavioral tasks. To understand the neuronal mechanisms underlying sequential decisions, we compared neuronal responses in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and the lateral and medial intra-parietal (LIP and MIP) areas in monkeys trained to decide whether sequentially presented stimuli were from matching (M) or nonmatching (NM) categories. We found that PFC leads the M/NM decision process relying on nonlinear neuronal integration of sensory and mnemonic information, whereas LIP and MIP are more involved in sensory evaluation and motor planning, respectively. Furthermore, multi-module recurrent neural networks trained on the same task exhibited the key features of PFC and LIP encoding, including nonlinear integrative encoding in the PFC-like module which was crucial for M/NM decisions. Together, our results illuminate the relative functions of LIP, PFC, and MIP in sensory, cognitive and motor functions, and suggest that nonlinear integration of task-related variables in PFC is important for mediating sequential decisions.

Using Fourier-neural recurrent networks to fit sequential input/output data

1997 ◽  
Vol 15 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 225-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renée Koplon ◽  
Eduardo D. Sontag
Keyword(s):  
Recurrent Networks ◽  
Input Output ◽  
Output Data

Dissociation of Spatial-, Object-, and Sound-Coding Neurons in the Mediodorsal Nucleus of the Primate Thalamus

2003 ◽  
Vol 89 (2) ◽  
pp. 1067-1077 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ikuo Tanibuchi ◽  
Patricia S. Goldman-Rakic
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Single Neuron ◽  
Neuronal Responses ◽  
Mediodorsal Nucleus ◽  
Sound Coding ◽  
Spatial Tasks ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal ◽  
Information Segregation ◽  
The Brain

The mediodorsal nucleus (MD) is the thalamic gateway to the prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain associated with spatial and object working memory functions. We have recorded single-neuron activities from the MD nucleus in monkeys trained to perform spatial tasks with peripheral visual stimuli and a nonspatial task with foveally presented pictures of objects and faces—tasks identical to those we have previously used to map regional specializations in the dorso- and ventro-lateral prefrontal cortex, respectively. We found that MD neurons exhibited categorical specificity—either responding selectively to locations in the spatial tasks or preferentially to specific representations of faces and objects in the nonspatial task. Spatially tuned neurons were located in parts of the MD connected with the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex while neurons responding to the identity of stimuli mainly occupied more ventral positions in the nucleus that has its connections with the inferior prefrontal convexity. Neuronal responses to auditory stimuli were also examined, and vocalization sensitive neurons were found in more posterior portions of the MD. We conclude that MD neurons are dissociable by their spatial and nonspatial coding properties in line with their cortical connections and that the principle of information segregation in cortico-cortical pathways extends to the “association” nuclei of the thalamus.

scholarly journals Cue-related Temporal Factors Modulate Movement-related Beta Oscillatory Activity in the Human Motor Circuit

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (7) ◽  
pp. 1039-1051 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Heinrichs-Graham ◽  
David J. Arpin ◽  
Tony W. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Motor Planning ◽  
Oscillatory Activity ◽  
Planning Time ◽  
Motor Circuit ◽  
Cortical Motor ◽  
Temporal Factors ◽  
Human Motor ◽  
Study Participants ◽  
Parietal Cortices

In humans, there is a strong beta (15–30 Hz) event-related desynchronization (ERD) that begins before movement, which has been tentatively linked to motor planning operations. The dynamics of this response are strongly modulated by whether a pending movement is cued and the inherent parameters of the cue. However, previous studies have focused on the information content of cues and not on parameters such as the timing of the cue relative to other events. Variations in such timing are critical, as they directly impact the amount of time that participants have to plan pending movements. In this study, participants performed finger-tapping sequences during magnetoencephalography, and we manipulated the amount of time (i.e., “long” vs. “short”) between the presentation of the to-be-executed sequence and the cue to initiate the sequence. We found that the beta ERD was stronger immediately after the cue to move in the contralateral postcentral gyrus and bilateral parietal cortices during the short compared with long planning time condition. During movement execution, the beta ERD was stronger in the premotor cortex and the SMA in the short relative to long condition. Finally, peak latency in the SMA significantly correlated with RT, such that the closer the peak beta ERD was to the cue to move, the quicker the participant responded. The results of this study establish that peri-movement beta ERD activity across the cortical motor circuit is highly sensitive to cue-related temporal factors, with a direct link to motor performance.

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.

scholarly journals Lateral prefrontal cortex as a hub for music production with gradation from structural rules to movement sequences

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Bianco ◽  
G. Novembre ◽  
H. Ringer ◽  
N. Kohler ◽  
P.E. Keller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Motor Planning ◽  
Rule Based ◽  
Structural Rules ◽  
Movement Sequences ◽  
Music Production ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Brain ◽  
And Diffusion

Complex sequential behaviours, such as speaking or playing music, often entail the flexible, rule-based chaining of single acts. However, it remains unclear how the brain translates abstract structural rules into concrete series of movements. Here we demonstrate a multi-level contribution of anatomically distinct cognitive and motor networks to the execution of novel musical sequences. We combined functional and diffusion-weighted neuroimaging to dissociate high-level structural and low-level motor planning of musical chord sequences executed on a piano. Fronto-temporal and fronto-parietal neural networks were involved when sequences violated pianists’ structural or motor plans, respectively. Prefrontal cortex is identified as a hub where both networks converge within an anterior-to-posterior gradient of action control linking abstract structural rules to concrete movement sequences.

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