Prefrontal Cortex Activity Related to Abstract Response Strategies

Genovesio, Aldo; Brasted, Peter J.; Mitz, Andrew R.; Wise, Steven P.

doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2005.06.006

Cited by 186 publications

(204 citation statements)

References 71 publications

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“…The quality of rule selectivity for mathematical rules in our study (median ROC = 0.614) was slightly higher than that found for match/nonmatch rules (0.57) by Wallis and Miller (43) and comparable to that found for neurons reflecting repeat-stay and change-shift strategies (0.615) by Genovesio et al (31). (Note that different durations of analysis windows and different numbers of trials per cell in the three studies limit the comparability of ROC values.)…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 62%

“…Damage to the PFC typically causes deficits in switching between different abstract rules (33)(34)(35)(36), and PFC neurons in monkeys have been shown to encode abstract rules in a "match/nonmatch" task (28) as well as during changing response strategies (29,31). Here, we report that almost 20% of randomly selected PFC neurons encode basic mathematical rules.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 69%

“…First, the PFC is particularly engaged during the processing of arithmetic operations requiring mathematical rules in humans (18)(19)(20)(21)(22), and damage to the PFC impairs reasoning with quantities (23)(24)(25). Second, PFC neurons can flexibly group information into behaviorally meaningful categories according to task demands (26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32). Consistent with these findings, lesions of human PFC cause deficits in rule-guided behavioral planning (33)(34)(35)(36) and functional imaging studies show strong PFC activation in tasks tapping the application of behavioral strategies (37,38).…”

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confidence: 70%

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Basic mathematical rules are encoded by primate prefrontal cortex neurons

Bongard

Nieder

2010

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Mathematics is based on highly abstract principles, or rules, of how to structure, process, and evaluate numerical information. If and how mathematical rules can be represented by single neurons, however, has remained elusive. We therefore recorded the activity of individual prefrontal cortex (PFC) neurons in rhesus monkeys required to switch flexibly between "greater than" and "less than" rules. The monkeys performed this task with different numerical quantities and generalized to set sizes that had not been presented previously, indicating that they had learned an abstract mathematical principle. The most prevalent activity recorded from randomly selected PFC neurons reflected the mathematical rules; purely sensory-and memory-related activity was almost absent. These data show that single PFC neurons have the capacity to represent flexible operations on most abstract numerical quantities. Our findings support PFC network models implementing specific "rule-coding" units that control the flow of information between segregated input, memory, and output layers. We speculate that these neuronal circuits in the monkey lateral PFC could readily have been adopted in the course of primate evolution for syntactic processing of numbers in formalized mathematical systems.mathematics | monkey | number | single cell I ntelligent behavior requires strategic processing of numbers and abstract quantity information in accordance with internally maintained goals. In many everyday situations, our decisions on quantities are guided by mathematical rules applied to them, and mathematical principles also play a major role in our scientifically and technologically advanced culture (1-5). Nonhuman primates can perform basic arithmetic tasks on a par with college students, however, suggesting an evolutionarily primitive system for nonverbal mathematical thinking shared by man and monkey (6).The semantic aspect of numerical quantity is represented by neurons in a frontoparietal cortical network, with the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) as the key node (7). Neurons in macaque IPS (8-10) and prefrontal cortex (PFC) (11-14) readily encode numerosities from visual displays and memorize them during delay periods. In humans, the detection of nonsymbolic numerosities and symbolic number information activates these sites in functional imaging studies (7,(15)(16)(17). Although the fundus of the IPS constitutes the first cortical site where quantities are extracted from sensory input, these quantities need to be processed further by integrating different sources of external and internal information to gain control over behavior. To that aim, numerical information from the IPS seems to be conveyed to the PFC, which operates on a higher hierarchy level (14).We thus hypothesized that neurons in the PFC are ideally positioned to implement abstract response strategies required for basic mathematical operations. First, the PFC is particularly engaged during the processing of arithmetic operations requiring mathematical rules in humans (18)(19)(20)(21)(22), ...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 62%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 69%

mentioning

confidence: 70%

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Basic mathematical rules are encoded by primate prefrontal cortex neurons

Bongard

Nieder

2010

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…The contributions of the pmPFC and dlPFC, which have different afferent inputs (1), to rule-based behavioral control may differ considerably (36). A more recent report described dlPFC neural activity representing abstract response strategies (9); the activity differed depending on whether monkeys adopted a strategy of "repeat, stay" or "change, shift." In contrast to the behavioral demand for selection and implementation of a behavioral strategy in that study, our present task did not require abstract strategies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This relationship with cortical motor areas resembles connections from the dorsolateral PFC (dlPFC), suggesting that both areas influence downstream motor areas during the selection, preparation, and execution of actions (5)(6)(7)(8). Despite numerous studies demonstrating the involvement of the dlPFC in various aspects of behavioral control (9)(10)(11)(12), however, little is known about the role of the pmPFC in the performance of motor behaviors.…”

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confidence: 99%

Neuronal activity in the primate dorsomedial prefrontal cortex contributes to strategic selection of response tactics

Matsuzaka

Akiyama

Tanji

et al. 2012

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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The functional roles of the primate posterior medial prefrontal cortex have remained largely unknown. Here, we show that this region participates in the regulation of actions in the presence of multiple response tactics. Monkeys performed a forelimb task in which a visual cue required prompt decision of reaching to a left or a right target. The location of the cue was either ipsilateral (concordant) or contralateral (discordant) to the target. As a result of extensive training, the reaction times for the concordant and discordant trials were indistinguishable, indicating that the monkeys developed tactics to overcome the cue-response conflict. Prefrontal neurons exhibited prominent activity when the concordant and discordant trials were randomly presented, requiring rapid selection of a response tactic (reach toward or away from the cue). The following findings indicate that these neurons are involved in the selection of tactics, rather than the selection of action or monitoring of response conflict: (i) The response period activity of neurons in this region disappeared when the monkeys performed the task under the behavioral condition that required a single tactic alone, whereas the action varied across trials. (ii) The neuronal activity was found in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex but not in the anterior cingulate cortex that has been implicated for the response conflict monitoring. These results suggest that the medial prefrontal cortex participates in the selection of a response tactic that determines an appropriate action. Furthermore, the observation of dynamic, task-dependent neuronal activity necessitates reconsideration of the conventional concept of cortical motor representation.cortical plasticity | frontal executive function T he primate dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (PFC), and particularly its posterior region (pmPFC), is intimately connected with higher-order cortical motor areas in the frontal lobe, including the presupplementary motor area (pre-SMA), the rostral cingulate motor area, and the dorsal premotor area (1-4). This relationship with cortical motor areas resembles connections from the dorsolateral PFC (dlPFC), suggesting that both areas influence downstream motor areas during the selection, preparation, and execution of actions (5-8). Despite numerous studies demonstrating the involvement of the dlPFC in various aspects of behavioral control (9-12), however, little is known about the role of the pmPFC in the performance of motor behaviors.A few studies have attempted to explore this area. For example, Petrides proposed that the dorsomedial PFC plays important roles in monitoring multiple events and self-ordering actions (13), although his later study suggested that the dlPFC is also involved in this process (14). Bon and Lucchetti reported that electrical stimulation in area 8b evoked ear or eye movements, and neurons in this region showed activity modulation related to these types of movements (15, 16). Human brain-imaging studies identified active areas including the mPFC that were re...

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Comparative Tasks for Comparative Neurophysiology

Mattfeld

2022

Electrophysiological Recording Techniques

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Prefrontal Cortex Activity Related to Abstract Response Strategies

Cited by 186 publications

References 71 publications

Basic mathematical rules are encoded by primate prefrontal cortex neurons

Basic mathematical rules are encoded by primate prefrontal cortex neurons

Neuronal activity in the primate dorsomedial prefrontal cortex contributes to strategic selection of response tactics

Comparative Tasks for Comparative Neurophysiology

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