Monkey Area MT Latencies to Speed Changes Depend on Attention and Correlate with Behavioral Reaction Times
Monkey Area MT Latencies to Speed Changes Depend on Attention and Correlate with Behavioral Reaction Times
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DOI：
10.1016/j.neuron.2013.03.014
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发表时间：
2013-05-22
期刊：
影响因子：
16.2
通讯作者：
Wegener, Detlef
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Galashan, F. Orlando;Sassen, Hanna C.;Wegener, Detlef
众所周知，选择性视觉注意与早期视觉皮层神经元活动的特征性调节有关，但只有很少的证据表明这些神经元调节与注意力依赖的行为改善直接相关。在这里，我们描述了中颞叶（MT）区域的神经元对与行为相关的速度变化的反应的强烈，短暂的增加，这种变化不仅由注意力调节，而且与动物的表现高度相关。在快速反应时间（RT）的实验中，这种瞬态成分发生在较短的潜伏期，而随着较慢的反应时间，潜伏期单调增加。重要的是，RT与在速度变化之前持续注意跟踪目标期间的发射速率调制无关，而是与神经元反应的可变性有关。我们的研究结果表明，早期视觉皮层的注意力依赖反应调节与行为表现的改善之间存在直接联系。
Selective visual attention is known to be associated with characteristic modulations of neuronal activity in early visual cortex, but there is only rare evidence showing that these neuronal modulations are directly related to attention-dependent behavioral improvements. Here, we describe a strong, transient increase in the response of neurons in the mediotemporal (MT) area to behaviorally relevant speed changes that is not only modulated by attention but also highly correlated with the animal's performance. In trials with fast reaction time (RT), this transient component occurs with short latency, whereas latency increases monotonically with slower RT. Importantly, RTs are related not to the firing rate modulation during sustained attentive tracking of the target prior to the speed change but to the variability of the neuronal response. Our findings suggest a direct link between attention-dependent response modulations in early visual cortex and improved behavioral performance.